The Savage,Frozen Heart
by shadowwalker26
Summary: She was born in a castle with the power to control ice and snow. He was born to a band of raiders with the power to turn into a wolf. They met thirteen years ago under...horrific circumstances. Now chance has brought him back to Arendelle where he learns that the little girl he met that night is queen. Will she forgive him? Can he forgive himself? Or will his hunger consume them..?
1. Chapter 1: Haunted

_A little girl with platinum blonde hair and a light blue dress ran through the forest as fast as she could, panting from exhaustion as she_

_fought the urge to look back to see if she was still being followed. "I knew I shouldn't have left the castle." She scolded herself quietly when_

_she heard something roaring behind her, quickly looking back with terror in her eyes before looking forward and running faster._

_She was steadily getting closer to Arendelle before tripping on a root and falling, a shocked yelp escaping her lips when she hit the ground._

_She pants quietly when she heard the beast snarling, her horrified ice blue eyes meeting it's savage dark yellow ones as it came closer and closer,_

_revealing itself as a black wolf, but it was a little bigger and had a few human features. The wolf bares his glimmering white fangs while she whimpers, the_

_summer air going cold while ice slowly creeps up the trees. She tries to crawl away before feeling it's human-like paw quickly grasp her shoulder and turn her on_

_her back, holding her down as it savors the smell of her fear, her eyes locking with it's own. "Please...let me go...I haven't ever done anything to you..." She begs_

_pathetically, tears streaming from her helpless eyes before she closed them, preparing for the inevitable when she felt it's burning breath tickle her soft, cool skin._

_The wolf's scowl softens when it hears her cries, it's grip loosening a little bit as a soft growl rumbled in it's throat. "Elsa!" An older man shouts, the beast's head darting to see the king and a large group of guards rushing towards them._

_The beast roars furiously before releasing Elsa and leaping towards one of the guards, ripping him to pieces before he even had time to scream when another clubs it in the head._

_It yelps quickly before swiping his head from his shoulders, now standing on it's hind legs while it tears every guard that attacked limb from limb which gave time for the little girl and her father to escape..._

* * *

His eyes shoot open, the midday sun blinding him as he struggles to wake up and study his surroundings. He found himself surrounded by the remains of deer, boar, bears and even a few horses and what used to be bandits judging by their armor, but luckily no civilians...this time.

He could still taste the blood on his lips, the scent alone still making his stomach growl as he collected himself, the memory of the little girl burned into his head. It had been thirteen years since that night and he still couldn't or wouldn't forgive himself for traumatizing her like he did.

"She had powers...she was most likely already scared of what she could do and I just had to come along and make it worse..." He grumbled resentfully, his voice growling as he scolds himself. He takes a breath before studying the landscape.

"Where the fuck am I...?" He asked himself, shaking his head a little before remembering he was naked. "Dammit to hell..." He grumbles, his silver eyes turning to slits as he smells the air, trying to locate the closest settlement.

He located one, a pretty decent sized one at the edge of the fjord which had a trading post not too terribly far from it. "Maybe I can restock there..." He said to himself before smelling something else.

A large group of men who reeked of death, fresh death like they had finished a raid, but it was accompanied by something else. Something more...animalistic. "They're here..." He snarls, heading to his camp which was maybe ten miles from the trading post.

He cleans up, dons his armor, which was black as night and accompanied by a black hooded cloak that looked like it has seen it's share of adventures.

After letting his hood up, he straps on a gently curved cutlass with an ebony handle and silver hand guard that was accompanied by a medium sized dirk decorated with a white oak handle and a ring hilt, to his side before draping a black leather quiver and ebony re-curve bow over his shoulder.

He dismantles his tent, what good it actually did him and stuffs it into his pack before pulling out a map, trying to figure out exactly where he was.

He studied it quietly, following the trail recorded on it from "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post" to the settlement closest to it, an irritated look decorating his face when he discovered he wasn't too far from Arendelle, the same kingdom the little girl called home.

"First the damnable raiders, now this..." He grumbles as he rolls up the map. "Maybe she moved somewhere else and I won't see her..." He said, trying to take his mind off of the nightmare that plagues him even now.

"I guess it's off to Arendelle..." He mumbles dully before pulling a mask over his face, hiding everything except his eyes, heading to the trading post first...

* * *

"Your majesty." Kai calls to Elsa calmly. She looks over to him, an exhausted look on her face. "There's someone here to see you...she said she could help with the creatures plaguing Arendelle." He explains calmly, she nods a little.

"Send her in..." She says in a soft tone, her weary eyes watching as her steward bows respectfully. "And might I suggest taking the evening off after this meeting...you look exhausted." He suggests considerately. "Maybe even join Anna on her afternoon walk?"

She smiles softly, touched by his concern. "I'll think about it...there's just so much to do..." She said calmly, almost with a yawn.

"I'll take care of anything else you have today, your majesty. I insist, you need a break." He said. She nods a little. "Thank you, Kai...I don't know what I'd do without you." She said thankfully.

"It's no trouble, your majesty. You work hard enough as it is and you more than deserve it." He smiles humbly before leaving the throne room.

She rubs her eyes sleepily, desperately trying to make sense of the reports the guards had received, mentioning mutilated bodies spread out within and even outside of Arendelle that everyone would swear some kind of animal had gotten a hold of them, a bear depending on who you asked, but there were always more superstitious folk who suggested that it was something more...unnatural.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door to the throne room open, her icy blue eyes shooting straight to a young woman with lightly tanned, but fair skin, emerald green eyes, auburn hair that she had fixed in a ponytail that just barely passed her shoulder.

She looked a couple of years older than Elsa, but had a sort of mischievous look in her eyes much like Anna. She was wearing a teal silk vest; black leather leggings decorated with a red sash and light weight leather boots that matched her leggings.

She was slender, but had a pretty detailed physique that hinted to a life time of martial training.

The woman bows respectfully as Elsa studied her. She motioned her to stand. "What do you need?" Elsa asks calmly. A playful smirk crossed the woman's face as she answers.

"It's not really what I need, your majesty. Something tells me Arendelle maybe in need of a werewolf hunter." She stated in a blunt, but witty tone. Elsa studied her quietly, raising her eyebrow when she heard the term "werewolf."

"What...makes you say that...?" She inquires, hoping she wouldn't offend her. The woman's smirk didn't fade and she shrugs her shoulders. "Mutilated bodies...sightings of strange animals...maybe some odd howling at night...?" She looked at the queen curiously as she speaks.

Elsa didn't say anything, instead nodding her head a little. "Your majesty...you've got a werewolf problem." The young woman says a little sarcastically before bowing again. "Talia Griffin, freelance werewolf hunter at your service." She introduced herself formally, not rally losing her sarcastic tone.

She smiled a little. "Pleased to meet you, Talia. I'm Elsa, Queen of Arendelle." She introduced herself formally as Talia stands. "How exactly do you plan on fighting these...things?" She asked curiously, noticing Talia grin a little bit.

"Actually, I was hoping you could assist in that a little...nothing major, I just need you to answer a few questions so we'll have a heading." She explains calmly, Elsa taking a deep breath as she speaks.

"Okay, what do you need to know?" She says quickly, motioning for Talia to take a seat. She went to the throne, sitting at least a foot from her before crossing her legs. "First thing's first...how often have the attacks occurred?" She begins calmly.

Elsa thought for a moment before answering. "They started maybe a month ago, possibly two. There's been one or two every night at the most or a series of attacks over the course of two weeks." She explains, trying to keep a steady voice as she does.

Talia nods a little, a fascinated look in her eyes. "Where have they been most frequent?" She continues. "Mostly in the forest, around the mountains even and a few too many within the city." Elsa answered.

She noticed Talia raise her eyebrow a little before asking her next question. "Any survivors...?" She asked her tone a little more grim this time.

"Two. Why?" She asked nervously, Talia's face much more serious than when she first arrived. "Will you take me to them...?" She inquires, hoping not to offend her.

Elsa watched her curiously. "May I ask why?" She asked, meeting Talia's gaze. "They may be able to tell us more about what happened..." She explains.

"The guards already questioned them, they don't remember anything." Talia's eyes got an urgent look to them after hearing Elsa's response. "Because they didn't ask the right questions..." She stated.

Elsa watches her for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "Follow me." She said as she stood up, making her way to the door with Talia right on her heels.

* * *

They started leaving the castle before Talia stops in front of one of the guards, shooting him an irritated sneer. "I'll be taking my weapons back, dick." She said bluntly, Elsa's jaw almost dropped when she heard the remark, but it wasn't until the guard returned with the various weapons that she felt it just give up.

Talia smirks contently before strapping a mahogany crossbow decorated with silver fixings and silver plated arms to her back then latching the accompanying quiver to her hip.

Then she reaches for a silver knife with a hooked tip and round pommel which had a long rope tied to it which was rolled up to where it'd be convenient for any situation.

She laced the strange weapon at the small of her back before picking up a pair of even more outlandish weapons that were about as long as daggers, but the blades wrapped around her fingers, protecting them and her knuckles and decorated with wicked serrations a few inches before the handles. (Ulaks, man, ulaks.)

She simply sheathes them in her sash before reaching for a set of what looked like silver throwing stars and strapping them to her wrists. Talia finished arming herself before turning to face Elsa, who looked her open mouth agate.

"You never know." She smirked before walking through the courtyard, looking back to make sure Elsa was following. She snaps herself back to reality and catches up to Talia, leading her across the bridge that connected the castle to Arendelle.

They arrived at a small shack not far from the edge of the city that belonged to a couple maybe in their thirties that never really did any harm to anyone. Talia quickly knocks on the door, standing beside the door frame so they wouldn't be too alarmed when they answer.

A man with short, dirty blonde hair, a fair complexion and glassy green eyes opens the door, smiling a little when he saw Elsa. "Your majesty, what a surprise." He said humbly, Talia stepping to her side afterwards.

The man's smile fades a little bit. "Is something wrong?" He asked nervously. Elsa shook her head reassuringly. "No. This woman is helping investigate the attacks and...she wants to ask you and your wife some questions." She answers softly.

* * *

The man nods a little, opening the door wider. "Of course...anything to help..." He said calmly as they enter. The shack was simple, comfortable, but dimly lit. The man motions them to a set of chairs in the middle of the living room.

"Make yourselves at home...can I get you anything?" He said respectfully, both of them shaking their heads kindly. "No, thank you." Elsa said, smiling a little before sitting in the chair on the right. Talia raised her eyebrow suspiciously before taking the chair to the left. "I'll...go fetch Katrina." He said calmly before going upstairs.

It wasn't long before the man returns with his wife, a pale, red haired woman with a slender physique and almost unsettling dark blue eyes. Talia studied them closely as they sit in a couch across from them.

"You...wanted to ask us about the attack...?" The woman asked, her voice shaking a little. Talia nods. "Yeah, I think I know what did it, but I prefer speaking with any eyewitnesses before jumping to conclusions." She explains calmly.

The couple nods a little. "We'll answer what we can." The man said, Talia nodding contently. "First, what's your name?" She asked him.

"Nikolai, but everyone calls me Nik." He answered before she motions to his wife. "And this is...Katrina?" She asked. The woman nods quietly. "My name's Talia, nice to meet you." She says with a warm smile before retaking her reserve.

"Now, first thing's first. What exactly do you remember seeing to the best of your knowledge?" She asks quickly. They thought for a minute before answering.

"It was...like a giant wolf with...maybe white fur, red or possibly yellow eyes, I can't remember." Katrina started, Talia listening with wrapped attention. "Anything else...?" She asked.

"I think I saw it standing on it's hind legs a few times, maybe even walking or running on them, but it was moving too fast for me to actually swear to that." Nikolai answers, his head hanging a little.

"Did you notice anything else unusual...?" She asked, her tone not changing in the slightest. Elsa just watched quietly, somewhat surprised by this witty, sarcastic woman's sudden serious and urgent demeanor.

"I think it had human hands, paws..." Katrina answered, somewhat confused when she thought about it. Talia nods a little, content with the answer. "Were either of you wounded...?" She asked calmly.

"A few scratches and bruises, but I think that was it." Nikolai answered, his wife's face growing grim. Talia's attention went straight to her, not saying a word.

"I was bitten...I didn't think it was anything major..." She answers sadly. A concerned look crossed Nikolai and Elsa's faces as she and Talia lock eyes.

"Did you have any strange dreams afterwards?" She asked calmly, the red headed woman nods, tears forming in her eyes. "Show me the wound..." She requests calmly.

Katrina started crying quietly when she lifts her blouse a little, revealing a lupine bite mark across her waist that looked like it healed in a pretty unnatural way. Talia's face saddened a little.

"Your majesty, would you mind escorting Nik outside...?" She asked quickly, her eyes not leaving the forlorn woman. Elsa nods reluctantly, standing up and motioning for him to follow, which he does reluctantly, kissing Katrina one last time before he did.

When she heard the door close, Talia took a deep breath, staring into Katrina's teary blue eyes. "I don't want to do it, I really don't. That's why I'm going to give you a choice." She said calmly, Katrina watching quietly.

"You could leave Arendelle, go somewhere away from civilization and hopefully learn how to control it. Or..." She didn't even finish the last part. She didn't have to.

Katrina wipes the tears from her eyes before looking to Talia again. "I couldn't do that to him..." She said, her voice crackling from the cries she had been desperately holding back.

Talia nods in understanding before standing. "I'll make it quick." She said reassuringly before walking behind her, pulling the crossbow from her back and loading it. She aims at the back of the woman's head, a single tear flowing from her emerald eyes as she pulls the trigger.

* * *

Elsa and Nikolai waited outside the door, neither of them saying a word when they suddenly heard a loud twang, Nikolai closing his eyes tightly as he breaks down crying.

She walks over to him and offered a comforting hand, which he humbly declines. "It's enough knowing she'll be at peace..." He sniffles as Talia comes walking out of the shack, a kind of upset look on her face as she looked to Nikolai.

She notices a pair of guards over. "You mind cleaning up this mess?" She asked them quietly, not wanting to upset the man any more than he already was. The guards eyed her curiously, but agree when they notice Elsa.

Talia kneels down by the mourning man. "I wish there was another way..." She said, hoping to comfort him a little. He shakes his head. "You did what you had to...at least now she won't have to suffer..." He whimpered a little before heading back inside.

Elsa sighs a little before eyeing Talia, whose face and vest had blood splattered on them.

"So..." She started. "Werewolves..." Talia answered bluntly, watching her face drop when she answers. "Is there anyone outside the city?" She asks quickly.

"The ice harvesters should be back around dusk and I think Anna went for a walk in the forest, probably going to visit Kristoff in the ice fields." Elsa answers, a confused look crossing Talia's face.

"My sister and her boyfriend." She explains. "Ah..." Talia said quietly. "She's bad about staying there after dark, though..." She said, Talia nodding a little.

"It may be best to go get them, then. It's almost dusk and if there's already werewolves in the city, I can only imagine how many are lurking in the forest, or even the ice fields." She explains urgently.

"Can you fight?" She asked. Elsa nods. "A little." Talia grinned. "Good, let's go." She said quickly, almost dragging Elsa into the forest...

* * *

**Okay, here's my "Frozen" werewolf story. (Go ahead, laugh if you wanna.)**

**As you've probably noticed, this one is going to be much darker than "The Call of Ice and Blood" was,**

**but that's all apart of it. You'll see what I mean in later chapters... ;)**

**Btw, I hope y'all like my O.C.s so far, I know one's a little grim, but the more ya learn about him,**

**the more you'll understand why. Tali, on the other hand...well, she's pretty self-explanatory. Lol**

**Okay, y'all enjoy and the next chapter will be up a.s.a.p.**

**I feel like I should point this out real quick: There is absolutely no "werewolf porn" whatsoever in this fanfic.**

**Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2: Re-acquainted

"You should have stayed in Arendelle, you know that right?" Kristoff said sarcastically, Anna giggling as the sleigh glides across the ground. "I didn't want you and Sven getting eaten by some monster." She said innocently, her bright green eyes looking deep into his light brown ones.

He laughed a little. "Those killings are probably just wolves that got a little too bold; the guards will probably track them down soon." He said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, Anna glaring a little.

"You remember the last time we dealt with wolves..." She said, a little more seriously this time. Kristoff met her gaze, smirking a little bit. "We survived, didn't we?" He laughed a little.

"Barely." She snaps a little. "We're still here, though." He said playfully, Anna couldn't help smiling a little when he said that. "Yeah..." She giggles a bit. "So, how was your day?" She asked anxiously.

"Well, it was pretty normal. One of the ice harvesters passed out on the job. Apparently, he hadn't been sleeping real good lately, saying he keeps having the same nightmare over and over again. I gave him the rest of the week off, maybe that'll help him catch up on his rest a little." He explains plainly, Anna listening intently.

"Did he happen to say what it was about?" She asked curiously. "Something about turning into a monster, running out into the woods and killing animals or something like that." He answers, watching her eyes widen a little. "That's pretty specific...maybe there's something to it." She suggested. "Maybe..." He said quietly.

The sun was starting to set when they arrive at "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post". Anna tugs on his sleeve, pointing to the simple shack. "Let's go visit Oaken real quick, I want some chocolate." She says hastily, Kristoff shaking his head a little.

"Can't it wait until we get back to Arendelle?" He asked, faking a whining tone. Anna shook her head quickly. "I might not want it when we get there!" She says in a hyper tone.

He sighs a little bit before pulling the reins to the left, Sven heading to the shack. He pulls back a little to get him to stop when they were by the steps, Kristoff helping Anna down after leaving the sled and heading inside.

* * *

They walk through the door, Anna heading straight to the counter and almost bumping into a traveler wearing all black and his face covered. Kristoff decided just to browse a little.

"Ah, Princess Anna. What can I get for you?" Oaken greeted her happily, neither of them noticing the stranger studying her after hearing the word "princess". "Some chocolate, please." She answers happily, Oaken smiles.

"Of course, just a moment." He stood up, towering over his two customers while he goes to find the chocolate, Anna finally noticing the man next to her. "Hi!" She greeted happily, turning his attention back to her.

"Hey..." He said, his voice was urgent and restless at the same time. "I'm Anna." She introduces herself with a warm smile. His shimmering silver eyes looked her over for a moment.

"Pleased to meet you, your..." He starts before she interrupted him. "Just call me Anna." She states in a friendly tone. He just nods a little. "Nice to meet you, Anna..." He says simply, just trying to act casual when he felt his blood start boiling.

"Dammit, of all times..." He grumbled to himself, Anna raising an eyebrow as she tries to figure out what he said.

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned. He snarls softly, luckily she couldn't hear it, though, but his eyes had started flickering with an unearthly yellow glow before he managed to get a grip.

"Yeah, I'll live..." He grunted a little. "Just had a rough week..." He said bluntly when Oaken returns with a box of chocolate. "Her you go, your highness. Anything else?" He says happily.

"I think Kristoff's looking around, I'll give him a minute." She said, smiling a little before turning her attention back to the man in black. "So...what's your name?" His head shot up when she asked, but he didn't respond.

He turned to meet her gaze when someone else walked in, his, Anna and Oaken's attention turning to the door to see a burly man wearing fur armor and carrying a double edged long sword on his side.

The man was rather large for his height and had a burly appearance that just screamed "thug", but he had glassy brown eyes. The man in black glares at the thug coldly as he approached the counter, discreetly reaching for his dirk in case he tried to cause trouble.

"Yoo-hoo, welcome to..." Oaken starts before the man interrupts. "I know where I'm at, sunshine, just get me some mead." He said rudely, Oaken's smile fading when he does and Anna's mouth dropping after hearing the remark.

"Um, we won't have any more until..." The man slammed his hands down on the counter. "Not good enough. Go to Arendelle and get it if you have to, I just want some fucking mead." He snarls coldly, making the much larger man cower a little before standing.

"Whatcha gonna do, big man? Blubber like the big baby you are?" He sneered, Anna snatching him around to meet her gaze. "Leave him alone! Why don't you go to Arendelle and get your own drink?!" She snaps irritably as he sneered at her.

"Listen here you little...GAH!" He was cut short when he felt the bone in his forearm snap in two before his head crash against the counter.

Anna, Oaken and now Kristoff watched when the man in black simply reached over, broke the man's arm, the bone barely poking through, but it was still enough to where it could be seen then slam him down on the counter, putting a silver dirk at the nape of his neck in case he had to simply kill him.

The thug struggles to try and escape him to no success. "Get. Out. Now." He snarls coldly, barely piercing the man's skin with the dirk. "What if I don't?" The thug taunted, growling in pain the whole time.

The silver blade went a little further into the man's neck. "Do I really have to draw you a picture?" He rolls his eyes impatiently. The thug laughs arrogantly. "You don't have th...ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

He roared in pain when the man in black slammed the pommel of the dirk down on his back in a flash, everyone else cringing when they heard the man's ribs shattering when his attacker forced him up, this time digging his finger into his throat before roaring.

"GET! FUCKING! LOST!" His voice thunders through the small shack as he drags the thug to the door before simply slinging him through it, watching him tumble down the steps and roll across the ground a few feet before staggering to his feet.

* * *

He stepped outside, pulling a black re-curve bow from his back and notching an arrow in the string.

The thug sneers at him manically before shouting. "This ain't over, you son of a..." He didn't even finish when he heard the arrow graze right by his ear, nicking in a little as it passed while the man in black notched another, aiming right between his eyes.

The thug snarls before putting his hands in the air. "Fine...you win...for now." He grumbled before disappearing into the forest. The stranger lowers his bow, puts the arrow back in his quiver then drapes the bow back on his shoulder before going back inside, cursing under his breath.

Anna, Oaken and Kristoff watched with their mouths a gate as he entered; barely hearing him grumble when he retrieves then sheathes the dirk before turning to Oaken and pointing at the chocolate.

"Can I get some of that?" He asked, trying to keep from sounding too irritated. Oaken nodded. "Of course." He went to retrieve another box of chocolate while he leans back on the counter, closing his eyes, which were flashing yellow again as he tries to collect himself again.

When he could feel his blood simmering down, he opens his once again silver eyes before turning his attention to Anna and Kristoff, who were just staring at him in shock and awe.

"He got on my nerves..." He said bluntly, watching simply nod, their jaws still dragging the ground while they study him. He raised his eyebrow a little bit. "Might oughta pick your jaw up, flies tend to nest..." He stated a little dully.

They pushed their mouths closed at the same time, their eyes not leaving him. "Will you stop staring, I'm paranoid enough..." He mumbles under his breath, but they didn't hear him, so he decided to just tolerate it until he got what he was after and could move on.

"How...?" Anna starts, her voice shaking a little from just plain surprise. He shrugged his shoulders, not really wanting to answer her question. "Complicated." He answers simply, taking a deep breath as his stress level plummeted more.

She nods a little, not wanting to pry too much when Oaken returned with another box of chocolate. "Here you go, sir. Anything else?" He says. The man turns to face him, looking around a little bit.

"How far is Arendelle from here?" He asked urgently, catching Anna's attention. "Two, three hours away, depending on how you travel." He answered. "On foot..." The man says bluntly.

"Three at the least. Do you need directions?" Oaken offered, the man simply shook his head before taking the box of chocolate, putting a medium sized coin purse that was about half full in it's place.

"I can find it..." He answers as he leaves, turning to Anna. "On me..." He said before they hear the door close behind him. She looks at Kristoff, trying to give him puppy dog eyes.

He shakes his head, already knowing what she was going to ask. "No, we're not giving him a ride." He said quickly. "Oh, come one. He probably just prevented a lot of damage here, the least we can do is help him get there." She almost begs, her eyes locked with his.

"You saw what he did. What if he's...you know..." He whispered a little like he was still standing there next to them. "He probably wouldn't have threw that guy out if he was crazy, he probably would have helped him tear the place apart." She states quickly, a pleading smile on her face.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate it..." She says innocently when he finally rolls his eyes. "Fine, we'll offer him a ride." He grumbled a little, Anna bear hugging him before grabbing her box of chocolate and rushing outside to catch the strange man.

* * *

She crashes out the door, frantically searching for him until she saw a black figure walking down the path towards Arendelle, Sven watching him, looking a little nervous as he did.

"Good. He hasn't gotten too far yet." She said to herself before rushing after him. "Hey!" She called out, running as fast as she could. He looked up and turns to see her almost sprinting towards him.

He just watched, his eyes shimmering like stars in the shadows when she stops right in front of him, an eager grin on her face. He looked down at her, meeting her bright green eyes.

"Another one?" He asked calmly, kind of wishing she'd leave him alone. "Actually, I wanted to offer you a ride to Arendelle." She said with a smile. "Really?" He thought to himself, trying not to let her request affect him too much, especially this close to dark.

He simply shook his head. "I move faster on my own." He said bluntly, Anna giving him the same look she gave Kristoff not too long ago. "It'll be dark before you get there and..." She stopped for a second, her smile fading.

He takes a breath; he knew what she was talking about. The killings, the men he's been hunting. Now, he was really getting paranoid. "This can't be a coincidence...what am I doing here...?" He asks himself, looking back at Anna before sighing somewhat irritably.

"Fine. If it'll help you feel better..." He said dully when he felt her snatch him up to the sleigh. "Damn. She's strong for a human." He thought as they approach the sleigh, the large mountain man that was in Oaken's waiting for her, the reindeer at the front just watching, tensing up a little as he passed. He stops her.

"Um, me and animals don't get along real good..." He said simply. "Oh, don't worry. Sven likes new people." Anna insists as she motions him aboard. "I would think so, if they didn't turn into a slobbering, bloodthirsty monster." He grumbles quietly when he noticed her urging him onto the sleigh.

"Ladies first." He said quickly. She smiled a little at his manners and sits next to Kristoff. He hesitated for a moment before stepping onto the sled, sitting in the farthest corner of the sled he could find that was nowhere near Sven, so he wouldn't spook him and kind of throws his pack to the floor of the sled, leaning forward and keeping his eyes down when he hears Kristoff snap the reigns and the sleigh takes off.

* * *

Nobody said a word the entire trip, Anna and Kristoff preoccupied with trying to find the right questions to ask this stranger wanderer, occasionally looking over at him while he himself simply stared at his pack, trying to keep a lid on his steadily growing hunger.

"It's always fucking night time..." He thought to himself, his eyes cutting over to them from under his hood for a moment just as they were looking away. He didn't have to see their eyes to learn what was bugging them, he was used to it. Intimidation, curiosity.

They were nervous and he didn't blame them, especially since they didn't know what he really was, or who he is, or that he could turn at any moment. "You...never told me your name..." Anna breaks the silence. He just kept his eyes down and answers dully.

"It ain't important. We probably won't run into each other after this favor anyway." She looked at him curiously, something about him reminded her of Elsa before she gained control of her powers, except he had much more rage bottled up inside.

"Would it be rude of me to ask why you're heading to Arendelle?" She asked cautiously, hearing him let out a kind of irritated sigh. "Just passing through, might sell a few things while I'm there." He answers, his tone not changing much.

"Where...are you heading?" She asks, trying to give him a comforting look. He looked up, his silver eyes almost savage, animalistic and wild, but after meeting his gaze, Anna finds something else stirring in the firestorm dancing in them.

Loneliness, she remembered seeing it in Elsa's eyes and she's suffered through it herself. She felt tears forming in her eyes before she heard his answer. "Wherever the road takes me..." He said, his voice a little quieter before looking back down. She wipes the tears from her eyes before turning her gaze back forward, keeping him in the corner of her eye.

"What has he been through that made him this way...?" She asks herself, trying to hold back the sudden urge to cry, thinking it would only make him feel worse. She would even give him a hug if she knew he wouldn't get mad at her.

Kristoff cut his eyes over to them and gently placed his arm around Anna. She snuggled up to him when he did. The stranger watched them, shaking his head a little before looking away, his blood boiling when he heard Anna's heart drop.

"Good job, you upset the princess of Arendelle..." He grumbled quietly when he smelled something. His head shot up, his eyes fixed toward the front left corner of the sleigh. He puts his arm in front of Kristoff, making him instinctively pull the reigns back and make Sven stop, his eyes shooting straight towards the man who had his other hand wrapped around the handle of his sword.

His heart raced when he saw him grip the blade and was about to tell Anna to run when he jumps down from the sled, pulling the thin silver cutlass, which had Celtic knot designs engravings creeping down the entire length of it and the blade itself ending with a claw-like tip with a subtle flair to it, making it effective for piercing armor and severing limbs.

"What does this guy do?!" Kristoff asked himself as he and Anna watch him approach a man that was on his knees, wearing the same fur armor as the thug from Oaken's, but this man had more hair. A lot more hair, or maybe it was just his armor.

He walked up to the apparently distressed man, putting the tip of his sword under his chin and bringing their eyes to meet. He wasn't really surprised to discover that this was the same thug he roughed up at Oaken's, he knew the prick.

They fought together in the past, but now he was...like him. The man grimaced when he saw his old comrade standing over him, revealing a set of dagger-like fangs as their eyes lock. "Well...what are you waiting for? Do it...unless you don't have the stomach..." He taunted, his voice snarling the whole time.

The stranger shook his head lightly, his cold and remorseless eyes staring into his former comrade's savage amber ones as he raised the sword, a crossbow bolt landing in the side of the man's head just as the silver blade dropped towards his neck.

* * *

His eyes followed the bolt's trail to see two young women approaching, one of them wielding a crossbow and wearing a teal silk vest with black leggings and boots and the second was wearing an icy blue dress that glimmered in the moonlight, however he did notice the slit in her skirt that showed a little of her leg and kind of rolls his eyes when he found himself getting a little curious.

"Fucking curse..." He grumbles, scolding himself for succumbing to that instinct, even if it was just for a moment. When they got closer, he started studying them closer. The young woman with the crossbow looked about twenty three, had lightly tanned skin, auburn hair and emerald green eyes.

Just by looking at her, he could tell she was confident, a firebrand even, but she had a chip on her shoulder. "A hunter, could this night get any better?" He mumbles sarcastically until turning his attention to the young woman in the blue dress, his eyes widening and his heart stopping when he saw her face.

"No...no...not you..." He said quietly, urging himself to grab his bag and run as fast as he could, but found his body paralyzed with shock when he learns that this was the same little girl he almost killed that night, her mortified face seared into his mind and though she was content now, all he saw was the fear she had felt that night.

If it wasn't for the hood and mask, everyone would swear he had just seen a ghost. Talia and Elsa walk up to the man, Talia studying him curiously, already noticing that something was off about him. He looked furious, restless, tormented even.

"Better keep a close eye on him..." She thought to herself before smirking a little. "You'll have to be a little faster than that." She teased, pulling the bolt out of the man's head. He hadn't moved or said a word since he saw Elsa's face, which made her raise an eyebrow and tap him on the shoulder.

"Hey! Anybody alive in there?" She asked sarcastically, snapping him back to reality when he realized the werewolf hunter was kneeling down by the thug and Elsa was checking on Anna and Kristoff, almost mortified when it hit him.

"She's..." He almost blurted out, but luckily he just managed to mumble it. "SHIT! FUCK!" He screams in his head, his grip on his sword tightening to the point that his knuckles started crackling and his heart raced. He felt his blood catching on fire before a sharp pain shot though his chest, letting him know he was about to change.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" He tries to get a grip on it, but it wasn't doing him much good. "Hello?!" Talia yells, his eyes shooting over to her and the transformation reversing when he remembered the hunter right next to him. "You mind?" She asked bluntly, motioning at the body. He nods, walks over then severs the head to keep him from coming back, Talia wrapping it up in a piece of cloth afterwards.

"Rough night?" She asked sarcastically, making his blood boil again, he had really hoped she didn't notice his sudden breakdown. "I...knew him..." He said dully, Talia nodding a little. "Sorry..." She said, hoping it'd help him a little. He shakes his head.

"It was his choice. He found a pack, joined them...it's for the best." He said, trying not to sound too cold towards the man. She looked at him curiously, she wasn't quite used to people taking it so well, but judging by the way he looked, she determined he was a seasoned warrior and knew the order of things.

She nods a little before joining Elsa, Anna and Kristoff. "Well, that's another one." She said quickly, tossing the cloth covered head onto the sleigh before climbing in, propping the crossbow beside her leg.

* * *

Elsa clears he throat a little. "Anna, Kristoff, this is Talia, Arendelle's new neighborhood werewolf hunter." She said, not really sure how else to address her. "Talia, this is Princess Anna, my sister and her boyfriend Kristoff." She finished, each of them bowing their heads.

"Nice to meet ya." Talia said quickly, crossing her legs a little as she slumps down in the sleigh. "Likewise." Kristoff said. "You too." Anna smiles, looking around for a minute. "Hey, where's...?" She started to ask when Talia points to her right, Elsa and Anna following her gaze to see the shadowy figure standing over the decapitated body with his back to them.

Elsa looked him over curiously, somehow recognizing him, but she wasn't sure how. "Who is that?" She asks her sister softly, Anna shrugging her shoulders a little.

"He was at Oaken's and some thug walked in, taunted me and Oaken then he..." She giggled when she remembered the horrified look on the thug's face when he flew out the door. "Threw him out." She said through a giggle. "Then bought me chocolate." She smiles.

A gentle smile crossed Elsa's lips when Anna explained how they met this stranger, her icy blue eyes studying him when she finished. "Clearly, he has a good heart, but...who is he and...why does he look so mad?" She asked herself, her curiosity growing the more she studies him.

She left the sleigh, motioning for everyone to stay put as she approached him. They watch curiously, tempted to follow her despite being told not to, but maybe she could get a little more out of him. He stared off into the woods, the urge to hunt growing stronger and stronger; he didn't even notice Elsa coming up behind him.

She took a breath before gently tapping him on the shoulder. Her touch snapped him out of his trance and he turns to look at her, doing everything he could to avoid her gaze while he mentally ripped himself to pieces.

"Thank you." She said gently, making him raise an eyebrow curiously. "For what...?" He asked, trying not to breakdown in front of her and alert her to his true nature. "Protecting my sister. She means the world to me." She answers, a warm smile on her lips.

He nods a little bit, but didn't say anything, which made it fade a little. "What's your name?" She asked softly, almost making him tense up. "I should have just bypassed Arendelle..." He thinks to himself before reluctantly answering her.

"Mikael..." He says dully. "Nice to meet you. I'm Elsa." She says, something about her voice almost soothing his searing fury. "Pleased to meet you, your majesty." He said calmly. Her smile grew a little after his display of manners. "Just call me Elsa." She says sweetly. He shrugged a little, still unsuccessfully trying to avoid her eyes.

"Are you...on your way to Arendelle?" She asked curiously, bringing his eyes to suddenly meet hers, nodding a little in confirmation. "Would you like to stay in the castle?" She smiles invitingly, his blood boiling again when he heard her offer.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, I won't be in Arendelle long anyway..." He answers dully, watching her smile fade, his heart dropping when he noticed her disappointment and her eyes meeting his again. "Are you sure...? It won't be any trouble..." She insisted, with a slight pleading in her voice.

He took a deep breath before letting it out again. "I don't want to be a burden..." He said calmly. She smiles a little bit. "You won't be." She says invitingly, making him shake his head a little. "Karma's a bitch..." He grumbled quietly.

"Okay, fine. If you insist." He sighed, feeling her cold fingers wrap around his burning hand and pulling him to the sleigh. "This again...?" He thought to himself when they board it. "Guys, this is Mikael." Elsa introduced him with a soft smile.

"I'm Talia." He heard the hunter introduce herself quickly while Anna and Kristoff bow their heads a little. "Kristoff." He introduced himself as Mikael returned to his original corner, his eyes returning to his pack when the sleigh starts moving again...

* * *

**Well, here ya go, Chapter 2 and the tension I promised. Should have the next one posted soon, but I won't make any promises.**

**Either way, it will be posted a.s.a.p., and I hope y'all enjoy.**


	3. Chapter 3: Kindred Spirits

Mikael didn't move or say a word, just twiddling his thumbs and listening to his "escorts" asking the werewolf hunter, Talia she called herself different questions about who she was and where she came from and so on, though Elsa's attention really never left him.

"How long have you been hunting werewolves?" Anna asks in an enthused tone. "Well, to make a long story short, a pack killed my family when I was a little girl, I tracked one down, killed him and been doing it ever since." She explained in a kind of blunt tone, Anna's smile fading when she did.

"Wow...I'm sorry..." She said softly, Talia shook her head a little. "Don't be. Shit happens." She says simply, leaning back in her seat a little, subtly studying Mikael for any signs of him being a werewolf.

"But...I did see something kind of strange when I found the pack..." She started, catching everyone's attention, even Mikael whose eyes discreetly shoot towards her. "What...?" Anna asked curiously, her attention wrapped on her.

"Well...they had someone with them. A little boy..." She continues calmly. "Do you remember what he looked like?" Elsa asks curiously. "Yeah, a little. He was pale, fair complexion, though, kind of like you guys. Not trying to be rude or anything." She chuckled a little before continuing.

"Anyway, pale, black hair, I think, may have been really dark brown...silver eyes, I think..." She said, Mikael looking back down when he heard that, but he still felt their eyes on him and it wasn't helping. "He'd probably be your age by now...if he's still alive." She stated calmly, nodding towards Elsa.

"What would he be doing with a pack of werewolves? I mean, sure I was raised by trolls, but...werewolves?" Kristoff asked a little stunned. Talia shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't know, maybe he was a hostage. He could have been one of them, or maybe they took him in to try and redeem themselves a little..." She says simply.

"Maybe he was their forebear...and they were raping his power for amusement because he was still a kid that couldn't completely defend himself yet..." They barely hear the hooded man grumble, everyone's attention fixed on him before growing silent.

"Just a theory..." He said bluntly before looking off into the forest. The air around them just grew cold, even Elsa shivered a little while they each contemplate the grim comment.

"Are you alright...?" Elsa asks softly, her voice almost breaking him. "I'll live..." He forces out in a dull tone, not moving a muscle or saying anything else. She simply nods and leans back, no one else saying another word the rest of the trip.

* * *

It wasn't long until they made it back to Arendelle, the guards bowing when they see Elsa and Anna, however they eyed Mikael suspiciously. Talia managed to chunk the severed werewolf head into the fjord before passing by the guards and just whistles casually.

Kristoff parks the sleigh by the stables before getting off and unhooking Sven then leading him inside. "I'll be back later to give ya something to eat, buddy." He said, petting him on the head. "Okay, I'll be here!" He said for Sven, Mikael raised his eyebrow curiously when he heard him.

"I thought I was nuts..." He mumbles to himself before grabbing his pack and stepping off the sleigh, studying the city which was oddly busy even though it was night. "Don't they know...?" He asked himself quietly before rolling his eyes a little.

"Of course they don't..." He grumbles when he suddenly noticed Elsa behind him. "What do you think?" She asked sweetly, trying to start a conversation with him. "What is she doing?" He wondered, eyeing her curiously before looking back out to the city.

"It's...interesting..." He said dully, honestly trying to avoid the conversation, his attention focused on getting behind locked doors just in case he started to turn. She studied him quietly, not really convinced by his comment. She knew something was bothering him, but she didn't know what.

He sighs a little and was about to say something else when Anna, Kristoff and Talia catch up to them. "Anyone else hungry? I could eat a house." Talia said quickly, stretching a little bit when she did.

"Starved!" Anna exclaimed. Elsa looked towards them then back at Mikael, who looked like he was just staring into space. "Well, the tavern's not too far, we could go there..." She suggested everyone except Mikael nods.

"Sounds good to me, I could use a drink." Talia laughs a little before following Anna and Kristoff who were already rushing that way, Elsa laughs a little and started following before looking back at Mikael.

"Are you coming?" She asks in a gentle voice, his shimmering eyes meeting hers again. Something about the way he looked at her tugged at her heart strings and almost made her want to give him a hug so he wouldn't be so miserable.

She noticed his shoulders slump, but he simply followed her, not saying a word and trying to keep his distance a little, which kind of disappointed her. He looks towards her, noticing that her head hanging a little and her eyes looking towards him every now and then.

He sighed softly before lowering his gaze, tears in his eyes again when he saw her disappointment. "If she only knew..." He said to himself, trying to block out these "fickle" feelings so he could keep the wolf at bay, but he was failing horribly.

"The sooner I can get the hell out of here, the better..." He grumbles, Elsa looking back when he does. She didn't hear what he said, but it worried her a bit. "Mikael...?" She asks softly, their eyes meeting again.

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do and don't take this the wrong way, but you're wasting your time. I don't plan on being here any longer than three days, if even that long and...I'm not looking for friends...I'm better off alone." He explains simply, trying to sound at least a little grateful for the effort so she wouldn't feel bad.

She sighs a little then nods softly, turning her gaze forward, keeping him in the corner of her eye. "Damn...that hurt." He thinks to himself when they enter the tavern, his heart sinking when he followed Elsa inside.

* * *

The tavern was crowded, but it could have been worse. It still bothered him, though. Then again, crowds bothered him anyway; he still hadn't quite recovered from the cramped sleigh ride here. It was a simple place, nothing too fancy and that helped a little, but considering he was still thinking about Elsa, he couldn't really bring himself to completely relax.

They went to a table that was pretty close to the back of the building that was kind of dark, but you could still see half of it. They took their seats one by one with Anna and Kristoff sitting beside each other, Elsa sitting on the outside right corner with Talia sitting across from her.

Elsa looked over at Mikael, secretly hoping he would sit next to her despite knowing he probably wouldn't after remembering what he said earlier. He discreetly looks back at her, feeling something pulling him to her, but managing to resist the urge, finding the darkest spot at the table he could and sitting there, his elbow barely sticking out of the void that otherwise completely consumed him.

Elsa's head dropped a little when he sits down and everyone else simply looked between them curiously.

"Awkward..." Talia mumbled before leaning back in the chair a little. "What can I get you?" One of the waiters asked. "I'll have the roast beef with potatoes and gravy, and an ale." Talia said quickly. "I think I'll have the grilled chicken with mixed vegetables and some tea." Anna says calmly.

"Make that two." Kristoff remarked. "Hmm...I think I'll have the stew and tea." Elsa said. The waiter nods his head, just now noticing the figure in the shadows. "And f..." A coin purse slides across the table and stops in front of him before he could finish. "Bring me the strongest thing you've got. Whole bottle if you got it." The man said bluntly.

The waiter picks up the coin purse then nods. "Coming right up." He said before heading back behind the counter to prepare their orders, all of them looking towards Mikael after he left. He just stared out across the tavern from the darkness, not even acknowledging that anyone was there and trying to ignore their prying eyes.

"He's a ball of sunshine, ain't he?" Talia mumbled sarcastically, her eyes cutting towards Elsa for a moment, who was watching Mikael with a concerned look in her eyes. He just ignored the comment, but his eyes discreetly cut over to Elsa when he noticed her watching him.

"So, tell us a little about yourself, sunshine." Talia said bluntly, breaking the silence. "Ain't nothing to tell..." Mikael answers dully. "Come on, there's gotta be something. Don't ya have a home? A family?" She said quickly, his head dropping in the darkness.

"I was raised by brigands...the road's my home..." He says calmly, his voice dropping a little when he did like it was hurting him to even speak. She, Elsa and Anna raised their eyebrows curiously when they heard his answer while Kristoff just looks between them, Talia just nods and grew quiet again.

The waiter returned with their orders, passing them out respectively and sliding a dark tinted bottle with a worn label decorating it down the table, Mikael catching it just before it disappeared into the shadows. "Here you are..." He said calmly before walking off and leaving them to their meals, everyone's eyes widening when they hear Mikael gulp down a long swig from his bottle.

"Whoa. Somebody can hold their liquor." Talia said calmly. Mikael smirked in the dark. "You'd be surprised what you learn being raised by cutthroats, thieves and rapists." He said sarcastically. "Well, look at that. Mr. dark and grim has a sense of humor." She chuckled, noticing Elsa smile a little before smirking herself.

"This is gonna be good..." She thinks to herself before taking a swig from her ale. "By the way, I wanna know something..." She said, her tone a little more serious this time. Mikael rolls his eyes in the dark. "Here we go..." He thought to himself while he waits for her presumed question about his nature.

"Do you have a crush on the queen or something?" She asked in a blunt, witty tone when Mikael almost chokes on his drink, Elsa blushing madly and looking to the side, but at the same time waiting for him to answer. He clears his throat before looking towards them, a stunned look in his shimmering eyes.

"I'd rather not answer that..." He said dully, Talia raising an eyebrow. "Why? Don't wanna hurt her feelings or something?" She asked curiously, Mikael letting out a quiet, kind of miserable sigh. "She deserves better..." He kind of grumbled, but they still heard him.

Elsa's gaze went back to him after his went back down, wishing there was something she could do to help him. Talia just shrugs a little and goes back to eating when a group of villagers sit at the table beside them.

* * *

"Any luck?" One of them started. "Yeah, found some kind of strange tracks leading away from the fields and into the forest, looked kind of like wolf tracks, but bigger." Another one said, catching the group's attention, Mikael in particular.

"Giant wolves? Is that even possible?" The first villager asks dumbfounded. "Not exactly giant wolves, but it is a monster." A third said, catching the other two's attention. "How do you know?" The first asked.

"Because I saw it last night. A monstrous, black wolf-like creature with golden eyes. It walked upright like a man, probably had the strength of an army. It dragged a good bit of my livestock of into the forest before staring at me and howling."

Mikael kept his head down when he heard the villager describe what he saw. He knew exactly who and what he was talking about. The second man scoffed and laughed a little. "He thinks it was a werewolf..." He said sarcastically before taking a swig from his drink.

"It's most likely a bear or something; the guards will take care of it." He states calmly, his friends just looking at him. "And what if they can't...?" The first asked in a somewhat nervous tone. "Then we're on our own..." He shrugged before they returned to their drinks. The second villager laughs under his breath. "Werewolves...heh." He scoffed quietly before taking a swig of ale.

Elsa, Anna, Talia and Kristoff just looked between each other while the men talked as Mikael nervously taps the glass bottle until he heard his claws barely tapping against it. He pulls his mask over his face, grasps the bottle and quickly gets up from his chair, not saying a word as he made his way to the door.

Elsa's eyes shot to him when he passed by. "What's wrong?" She asked in a worried tone. "I need some air..." He said quickly, keeping his eyes forward and soon disappearing through the door while they all just stare at it confused.

"That was random." Talia remarked calmly before reluctantly looking at Elsa. "What do you think set him off...?" She asks curiously, lacing her fingers together when she did. Talia shrugged. "Don't know, I just heard him mutter something about needing some air or something." She answered.

"But, something's obviously bugging him and whatever it is ain't good." She said bluntly, propping her chin in the palm of her hand like she was thinking. Elsa's eyes kept moving towards the door until she just couldn't take it anymore and stood up.

"I'm going to go check on him." She said quickly, Talia looking at her quickly. "You sure about that?" She asked calmly, Elsa shrugging a little. "I don't see why not, it might help him feel better." She answered simply.

"Maybe it's the kind of thing he can't talk about. I've seen men act like that before and they're always carrying some terrible burden they can't live down...no matter how hard they try." Talia explains bluntly, caution in her eyes. Elsa sighed a little before turning her attention back to the door.

"I've gotta try..." She said calmly, truthfully wondering what it was about him that pulled her so close to him, but she found it difficult to resist for some reason. Talia shrugs before leaning back. "Okay...just be careful, that's unpredictable at it's best there." She said calmly. Elsa nods and leaves the tavern.

* * *

When she made it outside, she studies the city hoping she'd find him pretty soon, but sighing when she couldn't. "Wow, he moves fast..." She said quietly, her tone a little upset when she noticed something moving in the alley beside the tavern.

"Mikael...?" She called to the figure softly before approaching, her heart starting to race a little as she did. The figure didn't move when she approached, but looked like it acknowledged her presence. The closer she got, the more human the figure looked until she finally recognized the figure as being Mikael.

He brought the now half empty bottle to his lips again and downs another decent sized swig before lowering it again, turning his gaze up towards the sky, the moon in particular. "Mikael..." Her gentle voice coaxed his head to the side, bringing his starlit eyes to meet hers.

He looks her over for a minute when he noticed the moonlight flickering along her dazzling icy blue dress and her platinum blonde hair while blending with her fair complexion and giving her a spellbinding glow that almost enthralls him.

This was really the first time he really got a real good look at her considering he's just been trying to avoid her for fear of killing her and never paid attention to how beautiful she really was, almost instantly finding himself enthralled by her.

"Wow...She's..." He thought to himself until he managed to snap himself back to reality, but he still didn't answer her. "You okay?" She asks softly, her eyes gently studying the shadowy figure. "Yeah...just not fond of crowds..." He answers, hoping it would satisfy her.

She looked down a little bit, feeling like she could relate. "Can I ask you something?" She requests quickly, trying not to sound too nervous. "I guess..." He said dully, his eyes dropping a little. She takes a breath before looking back up.

"Why are you so...reclusive?" She asks gently, hoping he wouldn't be offended. He sighed a little, looking back up at the moon and trying to think of the best way to answer her without revealing his true nature if she didn't know already.

"It's a long story and...I'd rather not relive that, if you don't mind..." He said in a low voice, hanging his head a little. Her eyes didn't leave him when she moved a little closer to him, gently reaching for his hand only for him to reluctantly pull it away, not wanting to scratch her with his claws.

She looks down a little before slowly bringing their eyes to meet. She saw the same savage look in his Anna did when she tried to help him open up, but she also saw the same loneliness accompanied by a strange hunger, a desire for vengeance and a strong fear and hatred of himself.

She sighs a little after looking into his eyes before gently stroking his cheek. "You don't have to be alone..." She says sweetly, smiling a little to try and help him feel a little more comfortable. He shakes his head.

"Yes...I do..." He said calmly, slowly taking her hand and moving it away from his cheek before letting it drop back to her side. Her smile faded a little bit. "Why?" She asks in a caring voice, looking deep into his eyes and watching them drop.

"Because people die around me...that's all I care say..." He answers sadly, reluctantly looking away from her when he felt his blood boil, cringing in pain a little when he does. She puts her hand on his shoulder when she saw him cringe and gently rubs his back, hoping it might help him feel a little better.

He felt her cold hand on his back and jumped a little bit, but relaxing a little when he recognized her soothing touch. He looks back a little to see her standing behind him with a comforting look on her face. "She's persistent...why is she trying so hard to be my friend?" He asked himself, reluctantly feeling himself relax knowing that she actually seemed to care about him if not just a little bit.

He rises up a little and turns to face her, the pale moonlight giving her a brief glimpse of his face, but it wasn't enough to actually see what he looked like. He looked in her eyes while a gentle smile crosses her face and she meets his gaze, finding themselves hypnotized by each other.

After a minute, Mikael looks up which urged Elsa to look behind her when she realized Anna, Kristoff and Talia were standing outside the alley. She blushed a little and Mikael pulls his mask back over his face, blushing himself when he did.

"Warm out here, ain't it?" Talia says sarcastically, Anna giggling when she did and Kristoff simply shaking his head, an amused smirk on his face. "You two lovebirds coming home tonight or do we need to leave you here?" She continued wittily, smirking when she did.

Elsa plays with her hair a little as she tries to hide her face. "Yeah, we're coming." She said softly before following them. Mikael hesitates, watching them walk off for a minute and halfway trying to convince himself to leave Arendelle while he had the chance so he could avoid getting Elsa's hopes up any more than he already has only for him to somehow end up breaking her heart. He sighs a little before reluctantly following.

* * *

It was late, Elsa and the others had already settled in for the night and Mikael was sitting on a bench in the portrait room, his keen eyes piercing through the darkness covering the room and scanning the paintings decorating the wall.

He couldn't sleep, not here. The last time he slept, he was in the middle of a field surrounded by corpses. The only thing he could really think about right now was Elsa trying so hard to comfort him outside the tavern earlier and the fact that she seemed so hell-bent on trying to bond with him despite him nearly killing her when he was little, though she doesn't know that, but that wasn't the case.

He didn't want to repeat that night and find himself covered in her blood and most likely that of the rest of Arendelle. He leans back on the bench until he heard footsteps approaching the door. He slinks further into the shadows when the footsteps got closer and closer until the door opens, with Elsa entering the room with a small book with a red cover in her left arm.

He watched her approach the bench he was sitting on, completely oblivious to his presence and a kind of drowsy look in her eyes. She sits down right next to him and opens the book, scanning it sleepily until she noticed the shadow to her right.

"Hi." She says softly, closing the book and looking to him. "Hey." He says calmly, kind of cutting his eyes to her every now and then. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?" She asked, yawning a little when she did. "I hardly ever do..." He answered quickly.

She studied him curiously. "Why?" She asks gently. He hesitated before he answered. "Night terrors..." He said quickly, like he was trying to force it out. "Oh..." Her voice saddened when she heard his answer, shyly wrapping her fingers around his hand.

He didn't let go this time, somehow she was growing on him and he found himself wanting to know more about her, possibly even be friends with her, but it really depended on whether or not he would be able to keep from succumbing to his hunger and how long he'd actually be able to fight it off if he somehow ended up staying in Arendelle, but he highly doubted it.

"What about you?" He asked calmly. She met his gaze and smiled for a second, happy that he was actually talking to her.

"Just couldn't sleep, have a lot on my mind." She answers sweetly. "Like?" He asks in a softer tone until she yawns cutely before gently laying her head on his shoulder, starting to doze off again. "These recent attacks. Talia showed up today saying werewolves were the cause. I didn't believe her at first, but when she found one of the victims who was bitten and turned into one, then the man you were with when we met you, well...I'm not really sure what to do." She explains sleepily while she made herself a little more comfortable.

He nods a little, he wanted to tell her who the wolves were so they could track them down and kill them, but that'd mean telling her his secret and that was too risky. "I'll help...if you want me to. I've been tracking them for a few weeks and they probably came here in an attempt to try and lose me, so I kind of owe you." He shrugs his opposite shoulder a little, Elsa smiling when she heard his offer.

"I'd appreciate it." She says sweetly, a sleepy sigh escaping her lips as she slowly closed her eyes. "Mikael?" She calls sleepily. "Yeah?" He responds. "Where's your family?" She asks, almost mumbling the question. He hangs his head a little.

"Gone..." He answers dully, looking back towards her to find that she had already drifted off. He chuckled a little before carefully taking the book and reading the cover: _"Werewolves: Legends and Occultism." _He shook his head a little before laying it on the end table beside the bench when he felt Elsa's arms wrapping around his neck while she subconsciously snuggles up to him, tenderly nuzzling her cheek against his chest before sighing cutely.

He looked at her curiously before shaking his head again, but he was smiling a little bit too. He gently wraps his arm around her and lays back on the bench where she'd be more comfortable, looking out the window when her scent triggers his hunger. He looked back at her before relaxing a little, playing with her hair a bit while he watched her sleep.

* * *

After a few hours, he noticed the sun starting to rise and looks down at Elsa, who was sleeping peacefully. He really didn't want to risk disturbing her, but he knew that rumors of them being "intimate" would probably spread through the castle like wildfire and that he had to get her to her room.

He holds her close and sits up slowly before carefully cradling her limp body in his arms. He rises to his feet and leaves the room, using her scent to find her room. He moved through the corridors quietly before eventually finding it, leaning her over his shoulder a little while he opens the door and slides in.

He turned to her bed before approaching it then gently laying her down and pulling the covers up to her shoulders. He softly stroked a lock of hair out of her eyes and watched her a little longer before leaving, silently closing the door behind him. He looks around the corridor, trying to figure out his feelings for Elsa before his stomach grumbles. "Guess I better go get a snack..." He said bluntly before walking through the corridor.

* * *

**Here we go, tender chapter, tried to keep things kind of tense and worked in a few puppy dog moments between Elsa and Mikael, and for **

**those of ya who are probably wondering, yeah, Talia and Anna will most likely gang up on them with the teasing at some point. ;)**

**Anyway, the next chapter will be a little brighter compared to these, but don't get me wrong, there will still be dark elements in it, but it'll be more cute than anything.**

**Well, gotta go, sorry it took so long and y'all keep reading.**


	4. Chapter 4: Child's Play

Elsa groans sleepily when she hears a knock at her door. "Your majesty?" Kai calls to her. She slowly opens her eyes to find that she was back in her room. She looked around confused; the last thing she remembered was talking to Mikael in the portrait room. Unless...

"Was it a dream?" She asks herself groggily, remembering that her steward was at the door. "I'll be there in a minute..." She says, her voice still groggy from just waking up.

"Take your time, you get a day off." He states kindly from behind the door. "That's not necessary..." She responds quickly, her icy dress forming around her body. "You deserve it, go have some fun, enjoy yourself." He responds kindly as she exits the room into the corridor.

"There's so much to do, though." She says calmly. Kai smiles. "I'll take care of it and if there's anything that requires your direct attention, I'll come find you. Is that alright?" He reassured.

Elsa sighs a little bit and nods. "Okay. If you insist." She says softly, looking at him curiously. "Do you know if I ever left my room last night?" She asks. "Yes, I believe you did. Went to the library and then the portrait room if I'm not mistaken. Why?" He explains calmly. "I don't remember coming back..." She states in a soft tone. Her steward laughed a little.

"The young man in black brought you up sometime this morning. He must have found you asleep and took it upon himself to bring you back up." He explains, making her smile a little. "That was sweet of him..." She said quietly before turning her attention back to Kai.

"Is he still here?" She asks, a little worried he might have left sometime after bringing her to bed. "I think he said he was going hunting. If he isn't back by now, he shouldn't be long." He answers reassuringly, her smile growing a little more.

"What about Anna and Kristoff?" She continues. "Downstairs with Ms. Talia waiting on you." He answered calmly. "Thanks, Kai." She bows her head a little before departing.

"Of course, queen Elsa." He smiles before returning to his duties. It wasn't long before she made it downstairs and made her way to the dining hall where she heard Anna, Talia and Kristoff laughing.

"What are they laughing at?" She raised her eyebrow before opening the door, the laughter stopping when she walked in and each of them acting like nothing was going on.

She looks between them curiously, noticing Anna trying to stifle laughter while Kristoff just whistles casually as Talia simply smirks. "Did I...miss something?" Elsa chuckles a little bit.

"Talia just told a good joke." Kristoff remarks quickly. "About?" She asks curiously. "Something to do with a priest and a goat, I can't remember exactly what it was." Talia shrugs a little while Elsa takes her seat at the table, looking down to see the simple, but at the same time exquisite breakfast in front of her. Her mouth waters when she smelled fresh bacon, scrambled eggs and buttered biscuits accompanied by hash browns.

She smiles before reaching down with her fork and taking a bite of the bacon and eggs, not even noticing the others watching her when she tastes the food. "Mmmm..." She sighs contently, savoring the divine flavors that seemed to flawlessly blend together in a way that was difficult, if not impossible to rival.

"Who made this?" She asks with a soft sigh. Talia and Anna smirk mischievously. "Your boyfriend." Talia teases, her tone blunt, but playful. Elsa blushed madly at the comment.

"He's not my...wait, you mean Mikael made us breakfast?" She asks surprised, Anna nearly busted out laughing after hearing her sister's shocked tone while Talia just shakes her head a little.

"Yeah. I think he killed a boar this morning, skinned it and made it all before anybody even got up." She explains in an amused tone, watching her tremble shyly after hearing her answer.

"Where is he?" She asks quickly when she noticed he wasn't even there. They all shrugged. "I think Kai said he came in, cleaned the boar, made breakfast, ate his then went back outside." Anna answers calmly, still giggling a little. "I'll have to thank him later." Elsa says softly before returning to her meal, savoring every bite.

* * *

After they finished eating, they went to Elsa's room, trying to decide what they should do for her day off. "Hmmm. We could show Talia your ice castle, maybe Mikael will come with us too." Anna suggests, watching Elsa blush when she mentions Mikael.

"Yeah, I've been wanting to see it since ya told me about it." Talia remarks quickly, kicked back against the head of her bed. Elsa looks out the window then notices him walk across the courtyard, a small smile crossing her face when she did.

He still had his hood up, but his mask was down around his neck and she could finally tell a little more about him. He conveniently turns his head in her direction where she could see his face save for his eyes, but that didn't stop her.

From what she could see, he had fair skin that was almost whiter than snow, probably from spending a lot of time avoiding daylight. Judging by his features, he was probably around twenty one, maybe twenty two and almost had the look of someone who's seen a lifetime of endless war, bloodshed and slaughter judging by what few scars she could make out and his rugged, but otherwise attractive appearance.

He had some stubble in his face that hinted to him having black hair and she couldn't help, but notice his strong, angled chin. That's when she turned her attention to his lips, which had just a little more color to them than his actual skin, but it wasn't much, yet they looked inviting and she couldn't help but imagine what they felt like or even what they tasted like, her smile growing a little.

He turned around to notice a little girl running up beside him, kneeling down when she got close enough. She couldn't hear anything they were saying, but the little girl had an excited and eager look on her face while Mikael just watched her curiously.

The little girl held her hands together like she was trying to beg him into doing something for her until she notices him kind of nod like he was saying "We'll see" before the little girl bear hugged him and nearly knocks him to the ground, a big smile on her face.

He looked a little surprised, but hugs her back before she curtsies then runs off, leaving him almost dumbfounded. She giggled softly before noticing the restless look in his eyes and the dark circles underneath them, remembering what he said about suffering from night terrors.

"To be carrying whatever demons he's dealing with, he's a good man. Whether he believes it or not..." She said to herself before noticing everyone else staring at her, blushing madly when she turned to face them.

"Sorry, I...thought I saw something." She said shyly, playing with her hair a little. Talia smirks and shakes her head a little. "Mmmhm." She said sarcastically, Anna giggling to herself when she saw Elsa blush.

"We...may have to wait on that until another day, it'd be night getting there." She says, trying to change the subject. Her eyes cut back to Mikael for a moment until the idea hits her.

"We could...go have a snowball fight." She suggests, Anna and Kristoff nodding. "In the fall?" Talia asked confused. "I'll show you when we get there." Elsa said calmly, Talia nodding a little.

"Sounds good, we'll collect your boyfriend on the way out." She teases as she stands, her smirk growing while they follow her out. Talia, Anna and Kristoff whispered among themselves about Elsa's little trance earlier, snickering every now and then while Elsa just follows quietly, her face almost blood red.

"What do you think she's gonna do if he kisses her?" Talia asks, just to where she could hear her. "Oh, there's no telling, I'd be surprised if she didn't faint or something..." Anna giggles when Kristoff nudged them.

They cut their eyes back a little to notice Elsa blushing and trying to hide her face a little. They tried to act casual until they make it to the courtyard.

* * *

"I'll go find Olaf, I'm sure he'll want to come with us." Anna says quickly before running off, Talia just watching her confused before turning to Elsa. "Who's Olaf?" She asks.

"A childhood friend. He's...different." Elsa answers calmly before looking towards the wall where she sees Mikael leaning against it, looking out at the fjord. She felt someone nudge her forward.

"Go on..." Talia teases, smirking the whole time. She took a breath before walking towards him, a gentle smile on her lips. He simply studies the fjord, his blood acting up a little due to his insatiable hunger gnawing at him ceaselessly and the wolf trying to claw it's way out so he could feed.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't know Elsa was anywhere near him until he felt her cold hand gently touch his shoulder. He turns and met her eyes, a kind of stunned look on his face.

"We're...going to...go do something. You wanna come?" She asks, her voice a little timid when she does. He raised his eyebrow a little when she asked, studying her quietly and tries to figure out what she was trying to do. "What, exactly?" He asks in a kind of wary tone. Her smile faded a little when she heard him ask.

"Is he really that paranoid or...maybe he never really got a chance to be a kid." She thinks to herself before giving him a playful smile. "Kai...told me to take the day off and I was thinking maybe...we could go play in the snow." She answers sweetly, a befuddled expression on his face.

"It's...not even fall yet...how are we gonna..." He felt her finger gently touch his lips. "I'll explain when we get there." She says softly, an inviting look on her face. He shook his head a little.

"I'm probably gonna end up regretting this..." He mumbles to himself before meeting her gaze again. "Sure...why not." He says calmly, Elsa's face lighting up when she heard his answer.

"Great!" She says happily, taking his hand and nearly dragging him behind her. Talia fought back laughter when they approached and Elsa calms down a little, a cute smile on her face as she shyly studies Mikael.

He waits for her to look away before nudging Talia on the arm. "Did she switch personalities with her sister or something?" He asks quietly, almost making her double over laughing before getting a grip and looking back at him.

"Trust me; she's still Elsa and Anna's still Anna." She chuckles, an entertained smile on her face. "Have you ever had one of those...you know, puppy love moments, or maybe someone have one when they saw you?" She asks quietly.

Mikael shook his head. "Can't say I have..." He said quietly, a kind of surprised look on her face. "Really? A looker like you?" She asks in a shocked, but quiet tone. "Looks are deceiving...besides, who would really fall for a murderer?" He states quietly, making sure Elsa couldn't hear him.

Talia shrugs. "Maybe she feels like she can connect with you or something, I don't know. Anyway, she likes you...really likes you..." She whispers bluntly, Mikael still looking at her confused.

"She wants to hug and kiss you, likes you..." She said quickly, almost catching Elsa's attention. His eyes drop and he sighs a little. "I was worried that was the case..." He mumbled, looking back towards Elsa for a second to notice her trying to act casual, but still looking back at him every now and then.

"Huh, I figured you probably liked her back..." Talia said quietly. "No, it's not that...I mean...I like her...it's just..." He stutters before just stopping, realizing he almost revealed himself as a werewolf.

* * *

"What? What happened?" Talia asked calmly. He takes a deep breath before motioning her closer. She leans closer and listens quietly. "A few years ago, me and the raiders who raised me attacked a village, intent on burning it to the ground after stealing it's resources just for fun...I had made it to the castle, took everything I could get my hands on and was about to burn it down until..." He stops.

Talia was silent, waiting on him to finish. "I heard someone coming up behind me, pulled my sword and was about to cut their head off only to find that it was a terrified little girl..." He finished, a regretful look on his face.

"And you think she's..." Talia suggests, nodding to Elsa. He nods reluctantly. "I don't wanna hurt her...and after how attached she's apparently gotten to me, I'm afraid it'll kill her if..." He almost tears up at the thought even though he was picturing something different than what Talia was told.

She pats him on the back. "It'd probably be good for both of ya." She said calmly. "Look, whenever you get a moment to yourselves, just talk to her. Explain what happened and why you keep acting so weird around her then apologize if it'd help you, just don't play with her like you've been doing." She explains bluntly, watching him study Elsa with a pained look in his eyes.

"What if she can't forgive me...?" He asks quietly, Talia shaking her head. "She's a sweet girl; I'm sure she will if you just tell the truth." She said simply when they notice Anna and Kristoff returning with the sled, accompanied by Sven.

The reindeer looks up at Mikael and grunts nervously like he was a predator. Kristoff looks at Sven curiously. "What is it, boy?" He asks quietly, following his gaze to notice he was looking at Mikael.

"He's not as bad as he seems..." He said in a reassuring voice, which didn't really calm him down much, but he tried to ignore it. Mikael watched for a minute before... "Hi! I'm Olaf, and I like warm..." He instinctively swiped at the source of the voice, knocking Olaf's head into Talia's arms, making her look down with wide eyes.

"Freaky!" When his vision cleared up a little, he noticed Talia holding a snowman's head that was...talking? "Oh, look, I've been beheaded." The head said randomly when he felt something run into his leg before looking down to see the snowman's headless body running into his leg.

He backs up a little, not really sure what to make of what he saw. "Turning into a wolf's one thing, but a talking...snowman?" He mutters to himself, his face riddled with confusion until he heard Elsa giggling.

"Hey, you mind?" Olaf says to Talia. She laughed. "Sorry." She chunks Olaf's head back onto his body while Elsa approaches them. "Talia, Mikael, this is Olaf." She smiles, motioning to the snowman.

Mikael just looks between them confused, not really sure what to say. "Olaf, this is Talia." She motions to the young werewolf hunter. "Cool." She said in an intrigued tone. "And Mikael." She finished, Mikael nodding his head a little.

"Uh, nice to meet ya." He said dully, kind of wishing he had a drink or something right now. "You look like you could use a hug." Olaf said, walking toward Mikael with his arms stretched. Mikael backs up a little. "That's...really not necessary." He said calmly, Olaf getting closer and closer.

"Oh come on, who doesn't like warm hugs!" Olaf exclaims before finally reaching him, wrapping his stick arms around his leg. Elsa smiles softly while she watched and Talia laughs a little. "That's it; give him a big hug, maybe it'll get him out of that dark, grim mentality." She said wittily, Mikael's attention turning from Olaf to Elsa and Talia.

"How...where...?" He asks confused as Elsa walks up to him. "That's part of what I want to show you..." She says gently, motioning them to follow her to the sleigh. He follows them quietly, Olaf still wrapped around his leg, but it didn't hinder him any.

He boards the sleigh before Olaf finally lets go and happily goes over to Elsa and sits at her feet. His gaze follows the snowman when he noticed her sitting in the same corner he was in the other night then looks around for another open spot, he hated that he had to try and avoid her, but he knew that if he killed her, he really wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

When he noticed that there weren't any more seats, he quietly sits down next to Elsa, watching a gentle smile cross her face as his eyes shoot to the floor. He pulls his mask over his face then lets his hand drop to his side when he feels Elsa gently lace her fingers around it, meeting her eyes again.

* * *

"Thank you for...you know." She says sweetly, her voice kinda timid. "Uh...you're welcome..." He says simply, she looks away cutely before gently coaxing him a little closer. He hesitates a little, but reluctantly does so before feeling their shoulders touch which makes them both blush.

He felt her tremble a little bit when they touched, watching her look away when a cute giggle escapes her lips. She blushes more, hoping he didn't hear it then notices frost creeping up her fingers. "No, no, no...not now." She whispers while she tries to fight it back.

He felt her tense up and gently strokes her hand with his thumb; coaxing the frost to retreat and making her body just relax. He sighs sadly before looking away from her, his feelings tearing him apart the whole time.

"Fuck!" He screams in his head. "This is why I didn't want to stay any longer than I have to, now I have to deal with the wolves and try and keep from breaking Elsa's heart before I actually leave!" He scolds himself in his head, Elsa looking at him concerned when she noticed his distress.

He met her gaze when she felt her eyes on him and hangs his head a little. "Sorry...old ghosts..." He says calmly, hoping it'd keep her from worrying so much. She just nods a little, wishing he'd just tell her what's bothering him so she could at least try and help him feel better.

His head dropped a little which made her frown a little before she gently lays her head on his shoulder, trying to offer him at least a little comfort. He almost tears up when she does; wishing he had went with his first instinct and bypassed Arendelle.

"Please don't do that..." He thinks to himself, sighing a little before reluctantly laying his head against hers. "They look so cute!" Anna giggles quietly. Talia smirks a little. "Yeah...if he'd just quit beating himself up so much..." She mutters a little before the sleigh takes off.

* * *

Talia and Anna were busy talking to Olaf, Talia herself completely fascinated with the talking snowman and not moving her attention from him anytime soon. Elsa giggled a little while she watched the scene. "She's a lot like Anna..." She thinks to herself before turning her attention back to Mikael, who casually looks down just before she turned her head.

She smiles softly then playfully nudges his foot with hers. His eyes went to his foot when he felt her nudging it, kind of confused at first, but starts timidly nudging her back, watching her smile grow a little when he does. They keep tickling and playing with each other's feet, their faces steadily getting redder the whole time and for the first time since she met him; Elsa notices a smile cross Mikael's face, even if it wasn't much of one.

He gently pulled her shoe off a little before playfully tickling her foot again, making her giggle cutely before tickling him back. He laughs a little and just keeps playing footsie with her, neither of them noticing everybody else watching them, snickering under their breath the whole time.

"You'd think they've been friends since they were kids or something." Talia smirks, Anna giggling a little bit. "Yeah. It's funny, it seems like they have so much in common despite seeming so...different." She said quietly, shrugging her shoulders a little.

"Maybe they met before and don't realize it?" Olaf says randomly, Talia's smirk fading a little when she remembers what Mikael told her about the "attempted genocide" in Arendelle thirteen years ago. She probably would have mentioned it, but decided not to, not wanting to make things tense again.

It wasn't long before footsie led to a little cuddling, though and surely wouldn't be long until they found a good place for their snowball fight.

"This looks like a good spot, what do you think?" Kristoff asks, looking between them. Elsa looks up a little then nods her head. "It'll be fine." She smiles a little as the sleigh stops, with Kristoff, Anna, Talia and Olaf getting off first.

It took them a minute, but Elsa and Mikael reluctantly let each other go and get off the sleigh. He studies the clearing quietly, frowning when he realizes it was the same place he had cornered Elsa thirteen years ago before her father intervened.

His head almost drops when he starts reliving that nightmare again, the present dusk turning to midnight as his eyes scan the landscape then seeing a large black wolf kneeling over an eight year old Elsa who was begging and whimpering for mercy while the summer clearing almost turns to winter before...

* * *

"Are you ready?" Elsa's voice snaps him out of the "hallucination", his attention turning to her and the others, Anna almost shaking with excitement when Elsa creates a kind of ice ball between her hands. He watched curiously while an intrigued look crossed Talia's face when she sends it into the air.

It disbursed after flying up past the trees then the next thing he knew, it was snowing. "This is awesome!" Talia exclaims before she starts catching snowflakes on her tongue. He carefully holds his hand out, the little white specks decorating his black, finger less glove that accompanied his pitch black bracers while his gaze moves to Elsa.

Everyone else scatters and starts playing in the snow when she steps forward a little, decorating the ground with a thin sheet of ice and making everybody else slide when they walked across it.

The clearing had turned completely white before he even thought about moving, finding himself mesmerized by the beauty and serenity in her powers, which helped soothe the bestial rage plaguing him. He kneels down and scoops up a little snow and runs it through his fingers, the cold powder melting almost instantly when it met his burning skin.

Elsa looks over at him to see him kneeling down and a mischievous smirk crosses her face as she holds out her hand, a snowball forming in it when she does. She watched him for a minute to see if he'd move before throwing it at him, his head moving just before it hit him much to her surprise.

"Wow, good reflexes." She says to herself when he turns to face her, a confused look on his face. He gets up and walks over to her, a shy look on her face when he reaches her. "What was that?" He asks curiously, noticing a playful smirk cross her face.

"A snowball..." She says cutely. He raised his eyebrow a little. "Snowball...?" He asked confused. She frowned a little and looks at him curiously. "Yeah, you know...like a snowball fight..." She answers calmly. "Snowball fight?" He looks at her confused, her mouth dropping open a little.

"You've never had a snowball fight?!" She asks in a surprised tone. He shakes his head a little. "Plenty of fights, but none of them involving...snowballs." He answered simply, watching her shake her head a little.

"I'm sure you know how to build a snowman, though, right?" She says with a gentle smile, which faded quickly when he shakes his head. "Like Olaf...can't say I have." He answers dully. A kind of sad look decorates her eyes as her previously happy expression slowly fades.

"Snow angel?" She asks, he shook his head. "Ice skating?" Her voice dropped a little, he looks at her confused. She sighs a little before finally just asking. "What did you do for fun when you were a kid?" She asks simply, watching his head drop a little.

"Killing, stealing, pillaging..." He grumbles a little, hearing her heart drop when he told her. "So, you never got a chance to just be a kid and have fun? Make friends?" She asked, her voice shaking a little when she does. He shakes his head.

"We were taught to survive...not make friends..." He answers dully, looking away from her when he heard her voice shake. She felt tears forming in her eyes after hearing his answer and looks at him a minute.

"Wow...no wonder he's so depressed all the time, there's no telling what he's been through." She thinks to herself before smiling softly and gently bringing his eyes to meet hers again. "Well, what do you say we change that a little...?" She says sweetly, an inviting look in her eyes.

He hesitates a little, not quite sure whether he should actually agree or not and worrying that something might happen that forces him to change and of course that would most likely be messy unless they were fast enough to kill him before he got started good and there'd still be a lot of blood.

He sighs a little. "Just go with it..." He mumbles quietly before reluctantly nodding his head. "What did you have in...?" He couldn't even finish the sentence before he felt her sweep him off his feet, pulling him close as they slide across the ice.

She laughs a little when she saw the surprised look on his face as their eyes lock and they skate across the ice. He shyly wraps his arms around her, trying his best not to hurt her in any way and pulls her close, noticing a comfortable smile on her lips, which helped him relax a little and made a little smile creep across his.

* * *

"Relax, nothing's going to happen. I promise." She says gently, stroking his back a little hoping it'd help him a little. He felt his entire body tremble a little in her arms after hearing her voice and feeling her touch, though he still looked a little restless.

He wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something about her that just made him feel calm, serene, peaceful even, save for the guilt and anger he directed at himself for nearly killing her before, but other than that, he felt comfortable with her and felt like he could actually relax. He almost felt...human.

Talia, Anna and Kristoff had stopped what they were doing and watched them dance across the ice, their eyes locked and smiles decorating their lips. "So, whatcha guys think?" Talia remarks wittily. "Oh, yeah, they've fallen for each other." Anna giggles, her eyes not leaving them.

"I'm kind of glad too; I think they both needed this..." She smiles, Talia and Kristoff nodding a little. "Ain't that the truth?" Talia laughs a little. Mikael smiles a little more the longer he and Elsa skate, the rest of the world almost non-existent to both of them as they both just enjoy each other's embrace.

She gently lays her head against his chest and sighing cutely when she feels him hold her tighter and gently drape his head over her shoulder, closing his eyes when he does and just melting in her arms. After a few minutes, they stopped moving, not wanting to let each other go, but their eyes did lock again, Elsa shyly glancing at his lips for a second before sweetly grabbing the nape of his neck and carefully pulling him closer and closer until everyone hears a loud snap which brings them out of their hypnotic state with Mikael's eyes shooting straight to the forest.

"What is it?" She asks quietly. He shakes his head a little before reluctantly letting her go, reaching for his sword. "Don't know..." He said calmly, pulling the sword and walking to the line of trees, studying the darkness quietly and smelling the air.

Elsa watched cautiously, keeping her eyes open in case something tried to snatch him through the trees and take him. Talia walks towards him, her crossbow propped against her shoulder, a silver bolt shimmering from the weapon's table.

"What's wrong?" She whispers, following his gaze. She couldn't tell, but his eyes were flaring gold and his blood was steadily boiling more and more when he recognized the scent. "Wolves..." He answers quietly, watching Talia look back a little when he told her. "How many?" She asks. He shook his head.

"Don't know..." He answered. She watched him closely, figuring out what he was planning. "What do we do?" She asks urgently, readying her crossbow. "Get them out of here. Keep your eyes open and shoot anything that looks like a giant wolf. I assume you know where to hit." He says calmly, pulling his dirk with his other hand.

"What about you?" She asked quickly. "I'll hold em off...I'll catch up when they're thinned out a little." He explains calmly. Talia nods a little. "What should I tell Elsa? You know she ain't gonna like the idea." She states curiously. "I'm sure you can come up with something...not trying to sound rude, but you need to leave. Now." He says quickly.

She nods and makes her way back towards Elsa, Anna and Kristoff while Mikael disappears into the forest. "We need to get out of here." She said bluntly, finding a perch on the sleigh where she could pick the wolves off easier.

"What about Mikael?" Elsa asks quickly. "He said he'll catch up when they're thinned out a bit." Talia answered quickly while the others reluctantly board the sleigh. "What is it?" Anna asks. "He said wolves; I can only assume he's referring to werewolves considering how fast he told me to get you out of here." She answers urgently, Elsa almost freezing in place when she heard her response, her entire being urging her to follow him.

"Elsa!" Anna calls out, snapping her back to reality before she reluctantly boards the sleigh, her eyes not leaving the tree line the whole time. "That everybody?" Talia asked quickly, scanning the faces on the sleigh to make sure everyone was accounted for.

"Yeah, I think so." Kristoff answered calmly. She nodded contently. "Alright, let's go." She said quickly before Kristoff snaps the reigns to urge Sven to move, the sleigh taking off when he did...

* * *

**Okay, cute? In a cheesy way, maybe? Idk. Either way, here it is, hate I had to cut it off where I did, but I feel I've kept y'all**

**waiting on it long enough and if I added anymore after that, then this really would have been some long, drug out shit, so I'll save the**

**carnage for the next chapter so I won't be leaving anything out. ;) Well, on the bright side, this was more intended as a cute, puppy love**

**thing anyway and I think I covered that in a decent manner anyway, so Hope y'all enjoy it and I'll try to have the next one up quicker.**


	5. Chapter 5: Old Ghosts

"We shouldn't have left him back there." Elsa hugs herself a little, looking to the side every now and then, hoping Mikael would come running out any minute. Talia scans the surrounding forest for any signs of movement, feeling the temperature plummet which turned her attention to Elsa, who was almost shaking she was so worried.

"What if...?" She starts before Talia interrupts. "He told us to leave him; he probably wouldn't have done that if he couldn't handle them. Or maybe he's just leading them away from us and plans on trapping them somewhere, who knows? Either way, he'll be back, I'm sure of it." She says in a reassuring voice, Elsa still studying the forest with a kind of distressed look on her face.

"I hope so..." She said quietly, lowering her head a little. "He's either stupid or resourceful if he'd volunteer to fight a pack of werewolves by himself, I'd imagine one would be bad enough." Kristoff remarks, the comment making Elsa tense up a little before ice starts creeping across the floor of the sleigh. He looked at Elsa and frowns.

"Sorry..." He said calmly. She nods a little, but her eyes stayed glued to the forest. She looks up a little bit when she saw something rush by them in a blur. What she actually saw of it resembled a wolf, by a lot bigger with human features.

Talia noticed her look up and readies her crossbow, her eyes scanning for the creature. Sven smells the air before frantically looking around then darting forward, nearly throwing Talia off when he does. "Sven? What are you...?" Kristoff started before he was interrupted by a werewolf lunging at him with it's claws aimed for his chest. He froze when he saw the beast and cringes when he heard the crossbow fire, pinning it to the front of the sleigh.

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff study the monster's corpse with almost mortified expressions. It very much resembled a wolf, it had the same shaped head despite the snout being a little shorter, a gleaming set of wicked fangs lining it's jaws that looked like they could rip through most anything.

The beast itself looked like it would stand over six feet on it's hind legs, which were mostly human save for it's more lupine lower legs and feet, even it's toes looked a little human, however each one was tipped with three inch claws similar to the six inch meat hooks decorating it's long, thin, human-like paws which would make something like climbing almost as simple as walking or running.

The beast's physique was similar to Kristoff in a way, but much bigger and a lot more agile in comparison. Elsa carefully reaches under it's leg and discovers the beast had a tail, presumably heightening the it's balance and grace to make it a more effective hunter.

"That's..." She chokes on her words a little. Talia nods. "Yep, that's a werewolf." She said simply before stepping down and going over to it with one of her ulaks drawn. "Might wanna look away." She says calmly. They each nod a little and oblige when they hear the blade cutting into the wolf's flesh. "Okay, all clear." Talia says, watching them all slowly turn towards her again to see the wolf gone and Talia covered in blood.

"What did you do?" Elsa asks, her mouth agate. "They'll get back up if you don't take the right precautions." She answers bluntly, cleaning the blade off before sheathing it then getting back in her spot. "How do wolves even get that big?" Olaf asks in a clueless tone.

"Nobody really knows, there's been so many different legends and stories about werewolves that nobody can really separate the facts from the "wives' tales" as people are fond of calling them." Talia explains calmly, her eyes not leaving the trees.

"Either way, I wouldn't suggest slowing down anytime soon, they travel in packs." She said quickly, propping the crossbow on the side of the sled before loading another bolt into it. Everyone grew quiet and mostly just kept their eyes open for anymore werewolves that may simply drop out of the sky on top of them.

* * *

"Anna...?" Elsa calls to her sister quietly. Anna moves closer to her sister where she could hear her. "Did it hurt this much when I shut you out...?" She asks softly, Anna raising her eyebrow a little bit and trying to figure out what she was talking about until...

"Oh, she's talking about how Mikael's acting..." She thought to herself before nodding her head a little. "Yeah, it was the worst thing I ever felt." She said quietly before watching Elsa's head drop when she heard her answer. She gently wraps her arm around her and gives her a warm smile. "I didn't hold it against you, though." She says sweetly. Elsa met her eyes and smiles a little before hugging her.

"Don't take it to heart, I'm sure he means well..." Anna says in a comforting tone, making Elsa blush a little. "What are you talking about?" She asks quickly as they let each other go. "Mikael. I can tell you like him and you wish he'd let you in." Anna smiles playfully, Elsa blushing more.

"No I don't...I mean...maybe...uggh." She groans as she tries to stutter the sentence out, Anna giggling the whole time. "Elsa, it's okay. You've got a crush on a kind of rugged guy, there's nothing wrong with that." She says sweetly, watching Elsa hide her face a little.

"If it helps you feel any better, he's crazy about you too." She smirks a little. "How do you know?" Elsa looks up curiously. "Well, he seems happier around you for one thing and trust me, if you think he looked demented when you met him, you should have seen him at Oaken's." Anna says calmly, shrugging a little.

"He told me he's had a rough life, but he didn't go into any details." Elsa says, her tone a little sad. "Ask him." Anna suggests. "I did, about a few things anyway. He said it was better that I didn't know...in so many words." She answers calmly, remembering the night they spent in the portrait room.

"Maybe he has powers and wasn't sure how to tell you?" Anna shrugs again, it'd make sense after all. "Maybe...I hate to just ask him something like that, though. It might offend him." Elsa sighs a little before looking down again. "He'd probably tell you quicker than anybody else. Take away the anger and that grim outlook; he's probably a lot like you were when you locked yourself up." Anna says simply, making her think about his reclusive attitude a little.

"Maybe that's how he locks himself away from the world..." She says to herself when the sleigh suddenly stops.

"Sven?" Kristoff calls out, tugging on the reigns to learn there was nothing attached. "Sven?!" He calls out again, Talia looking forward while Anna and Elsa look between them. "The reigns have been cut. I don't see any blood, though." Talia says quickly, readying her crossbow.

"So, he got away." Kristoff says relieved. "Yeah. Now, we're stuck." She says bluntly. "Olaf, go to Arendelle and get help." Elsa says quickly, the snowman nodding quickly. "Okay." He jumps up and disappears into the woods. "I don't like this, we're sitting ducks..." Talia grumbles a little, studying the landscape closely.

"You two get a hold of some weapons." She motioned to Anna and Kristoff, who digs through his bag and pulls out a pair of ice picks and passes one to Anna. "Make sure you avoid the claws and the teeth. If they bite you, you turn into one." She explains simply, Kristoff and Anna shivering when she did and Elsa looking around quietly.

Everyone's attention shot forward when they hear snarling at the front of the sleigh, their attention locked on the beast that steadily crept closer. The wolf resembled the first in most every aspect, save for a lighter colored pelt.

* * *

It's almost golden eyes lock with theirs and it simply just keeps moving towards them on all fours. Talia raises her crossbow and aims right between it's eyes, though it didn't falter or even make an attempt to lunge at them, which made her hesitate. They watch the wolf quietly while Talia attempts to figure out what it's next move would be, her eyes locking with it's own.

Talia was just about to pull the trigger when she noticed something move in the corner of her right eye and it was moving fast. She takes a breath then quickly turns right and pulls the trigger, sending one of the wolves flying backwards while the one in front lunges only to be skewered on large icicles.

That's when they noticed the multiple shadows circling them. "It's an ambush, if we stay in this thing, we're dead." Talia states quickly before jumping off the sleigh with everyone else close behind. "You guys ready?" She asks quickly. They nod in response.

"Okay, stay close." She says before putting her crossbow away and pulling her ulaks while Kristoff, Anna and Elsa each take a defensive stance. A set of yellow eyes formed in the shadows as Talia takes her stance, waiting for the beast to lunge so she could end it before it kills anybody.

The glowing eyes rise when Elsa suddenly yelps, which made Talia turn around quickly to see she had frozen one solid just as it was lunging at her. Talia smirked a little before she heard a loud roar coming from behind her, turning around to see that the one she was watching earlier was sprinting towards her.

She stands her ground when she heard more snarling and growling coming from every direction and noticed a large pack surrounding and closing in on them quickly. "It's a trap." She grumbles, her eyes fixed on the wolf in front of her while the others watched the ones closing in on them.

The first wolf reaches Talia and was just about to strike when she ducks, slashing it's wrist on the way down then gutting it, making it snarl in pain before she re positions herself behind it and using the ulaks to behead it.

She turns to face another, sparring with it for a few minutes before finally slashing it's throat which made it sling her backwards in retaliation. She grunts a little when she hit the ground then draws her crossbow and loads it quickly when the wounded wolf charged.

She raises the crossbow and fires without hesitation, hitting it square between the eyes and watching it's lifeless corpse stop just a few inches from her. Elsa used her powers to keep the bulk of the pack at a distance, forming a ring of ice spikes around them and freezing most that got around or over it while Anna and Kristoff cleave into their heads with the ice picks, effectively piercing the brain each time for fatal results.

One of them had gotten around Elsa while she was distracted and was now heading straight for Anna while another rushes towards her in a blur, making her flinch and close her eyes before it suddenly stopped. She slowly opened her eyes to see that she was now staring the beast dead in the eyes with it's claws inches from her head.

She sighs relieved until she noticed the one heading for Anna and instinctively sends a trail of ice spikes towards it, successfully impaling it before it reached her. Anna turned around quickly when she heard the dying yelps to see the skewered wolf before turning towards Elsa, a grateful smile on her face.

Elsa smiles back before she hears something roar behind her, turning just in time for another wolf to lunge through the one she had frozen and pinning her to the ground, the only thing keeping it from ripping her head off being her right arm which was encased in ice.

"Elsa!" Anna rushed towards her sister until another set separates her and Kristoff from Elsa and the wolf and attempting to separate Talia from them. Elsa pushes against the wolf's torso as hard as she could, flinching every time she heard it's jaws snap and hearing ice crack when it's jaws started getting closer and her strength starts waning.

* * *

She grits her teeth and tries to push it back when she noticed it rear back a little then snap at her before being snatched off by a pitch black blur, a deep snarl following it. She starts sitting up when she starts hearing pained whimpering accompanied by what she took to be an irritated snarl before looking around to see that the fighting had just stopped, Anna, Kristoff, Talia and even the other werewolves looking towards the front of the sleigh in shock. What she could make of her companies' faces anyway.

She reluctantly follows their gaze, her eyes widening in terror when she noticed the monstrous black wolf pinning it's smaller adversary to the ground with it's left paw, the claws themselves deep enough in the beast's neck for it to grasp it's spinal cord. The smaller werewolf desperately struggles to escape it's larger brother's grasp, whimpering and yelping frantically before a loud crack echoes through the area, the wolf's body going limp afterwards.

The midnight shrouded beast pulls it's fingers out of it's prey's neck then proceeds to stand up, most likely towering around seven and a half to eight feet upright, but one of the pack decided to avenge their fallen brother and pounces on it's back, sinking it's teeth deep into it's neck.

The beast roars before simply reaching behind it's back, it's claws digging deep into the smaller wolf's flesh before effortlessly slinging it off and through a tree while two more attempt to engage him from the side, only for one to have it's head lopped off and the other to nearly be ripped in two while the beasts' snarling, roaring, snapping and mauling echoes through the forest.

They watch as the rest of the pack simply rushes by them in an attempt to take down the larger wolf, circling it like they did with them while one lunges at it. The beast looked up when it lunged and stood on it's hind legs long enough to snap down on it's throat then slam it's body against the ground with all it's strength, shattering the smaller wolf's bones instantly before standing again to sling the body at a group coming from it's left, sending them flying backwards when it hit with enough force to make them skid across the ground.

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff watched the slaughter, their mouths agate the whole time when Talia creeps up behind them, tapping Elsa on the shoulder. She jumped when she felt Talia's hand then sighs in relief when she realized who it was. "I think we should use this as an opportunity to run." She suggests quietly

"Kristoff, we'll retrieve your sleigh in the morning and hopefully we'll find Sven along the way if he hasn't already made it back to Arendelle." She said while another wolf runs up behind it's black pelted adversary until the beast's claws dug into it's chest before splitting it's ribs then ripping everything within them out, the smaller wolf's body dropping like a rock afterwards.

They each cringe while they watched before they nod in agreement and follow Talia out of their line of sight. They barely managed to slip away from the wolves and started following the trail to Arendelle, Elsa reluctantly looking back to see that four of the smaller wolves had attached themselves to the black wolf and were attempting to bring it down until it kicks one in the head, most likely snapping it's neck before grabbing the two on it's back and using them to bash others away from him then impaling them on the ring of ice spikes she created earlier before biting down on the last's neck and slinging it around like a chew toy before throwing it to the side.

The wolf hunched over a little while it takes a breather and recovers from the battle, it's black pelt shimmering with shades of crimson from the blood coating it. The wolf looks in her direction and briefly meets her eyes before she slowly backs away and disappears.

* * *

They walked through the forest, Anna trembling a little after the incident not too long ago and hugging up to Kristoff as she does. Talia headed the group, her mind racing while she tries to figure out who or what that black werewolf is and where it came from.

"Maybe a turf war or something?" She asks herself quietly, shaking her head in confusion, it was pretty common for werewolves to hunt each other, but that was the first time she's ever seen a lone wolf attack a pack, much less be able to hold it's ground so easily against that many.

She looks back to check on the others to see Anna cuddling up to Kristoff and Elsa nervously rubbing her hands together with a horrified, confused and curious look on her face. No one really knew it, but they were all wondering about the same thing.

"Talia...?" Elsa starts shakily. "I don't know, I ain't seen one do that before. Must have been one pissed off son of a bitch before he turned, though. Whatever emotions a wolf's feeling when it turns usually influence how they act in their true form." She answered simply, shrugging a little when she did.

Elsa sighed quietly until she heard rustling to her left, everyone following her gaze. They moved closer to each other just in case it was another pack of werewolves that would try and split them up again. Talia raised her crossbow and aims towards the bushes that were trembling in front of them.

She moves forward a little, waiting for the unknown assailant to get in her sights until she noticed Sven leap from the bushes and towards Kristoff and Anna happily. "Sven!" Kristoff calls out to the reindeer as he jumps up and licks his face like he was a dog.

"Are you alright, buddy?" He asked quickly, scanning Sven for wounds, but luckily he was unharmed. Talia props her crossbow on her shoulder and smirks a little while she watched the reunion. "Well, now if it was convenient enough to get the sleigh right now, we'd be back in Arendelle before..." She was cut off by a thundering howl unlike anything any of them ever heard before despite resembling that of a wolf, it was much bigger and even made Elsa's blood almost freeze in her veins.

"We need to move, now. The bigger ones are usually a lot worse." Talia says quickly, motioning for them to follow her. They nod and followed quietly, Sven moving to Kristoff's right side with Anna still at his left and Elsa following close behind them, shivering nervously while the unearthly howl echoes through her head.

"Who...what are you?" She asks herself quietly. They finally reach the gates after a few hours, the moon illuminating the city with it's pale light and making the otherwise bloody night seem peaceful. Kai comes rushing out when the gates open.

* * *

"Your majesty, are you alright? Olaf came hours ago and told us about the attack. I feared the worst..." He asks hysterically, Elsa nodding reassuringly. "We're fine, thank you." She says calmly before hearing Kai let out a relieved sigh. "We'll have to retrieve Kristoff's sleigh in the morning, though." She said quickly. Kai nods a little. "Of course. Let's go inside, after such a close call, it's not a good idea to linger here for too long." He suggests urgently before leading them through the gates and into the castle.

After everything was locked down and Kai went back to bed, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Talia sat around the throne, their minds on the exact same thing. "Do you think it was a coincidence?" Anna asks quickly, catching everyone's attention.

"What?" Talia raised an eyebrow. "That ambush, the way they were separating us, that black werewolf?" She continues curiously, Talia shrugging a little. "Well, they are more effective in packs, therefor they can strategize and adapt, the way they singled us out may have been retaliation against Elsa's powers, but the black wolf, well it surprised me as much as it did you." She answers.

"Is it in any way possible that it was there to help us?" Elsa asks quietly, Talia raising her eyebrow a little. "I wouldn't completely rule that out, but I've never really heard of it happening, especially not a lone wolf holding it's ground against a pack that size and coming out in one piece." She says calmly, shrugging a little when she does before noticing Elsa's gaze move to the door, worry and concern in her eyes.

"Do you think he's...?" She started softly before looking down again. "He'll be okay, I promise." Anna said reassuringly, hugging her sister a little. "If it'd help you feel better, I can go look for him in the morning." Talia offers calmly, Elsa meeting her gaze.

"Are you sure?" She asks shakily. "Yeah, they'll be gone by then and that'll make things easier." She smiles a bit, noticing a relieved smile cross Elsa's lips. "Thank you." She said softly. "No problem. Now, I think we've all earned some sleep, don't you agree?" Talia suggests, a slight yawn in her voice. "Yeah, I think we have." Elsa yawns before standing up and going upstairs, everyone else right behind her.

* * *

The monstrous black werewolf that saved them earlier crawls towards Arendelle, still covered in blood, but it's wounds having healed long ago, however some of the damage was still there. The beast was tired, thirsty even and the closest source of water was around Arendelle.

The wolf looks towards the city, the varying scents in the city making it hungry, but luckily he fed on enough of the others that he could ignore it for now. It grumbles a little before making it's way to the fjord, hiding in the shadows under the bridge just in case any of the guards happened to pass by before leaning down and quickly lapping the cold water in it's jaws then shaking it's head a little to get rid of any excess on his fur.

It snarls a little then goes to a corner under then bridge before curling up in a ball and trying to simmer down a little. The beast laced it's claws together before laying it's massive head on top of them, it's golden eyes unknowingly looking towards Elsa's room before letting out a kind of sleepy whimper then closing them, drifting into a deep sleep afterwards...

* * *

**Okay, this is number 5? Anyway, I know it's short and probably doesn't make a lick of sense at times, but here's the carnage**

**I had originally intended for the previous one and a bit of a peek into the mentality of a werewolf, plus a little bonus part at the end for**

**extra measure. So, given what y'all have read so far, what do you think is gonna happen next, you think any of them have figured it out yet, will**

**Elsa forgive Mikael if and when she does find out and do you think he's gonna end up staying in Arendelle? Important questions! xD**

**Well, y'all enjoy, read on readers, let me know whatcha think so far and the next chapter will be coming soon.**


	6. Chapter 6: A Friendly Walk?

_Elsa__ looks out across Arendelle from the balcony of her ice castle, the cool autumn air tickling her skin_

_and a calm feeling washing over her as her icy eyes studying the landscape beneath her._

_Something didn't feel right, though, was something missing, was something on her mind?_

_She hangs her head a little when she thought about the sudden distress that was almost taunting her as ice slowly_

_coats her hands until she felt a burning, yet comforting hand grasp hers. She looks up to see Mikael standing next to her, a gentle smile_

_on his lips and a kind of timid, but caring look in his eyes. She smiles warmly and hugs him tightly, her worries and stress melting away_

_when they sink into each other's embrace. "Elsa, I..." He starts until she gently puts her finger to his lips, her eyes locking with his_

_as she pulls him closer, their lips just barely touching when they were interrupted by snarling._

_They looked to the side to see the black wolf from the attack crouching down like he was getting ready to pounce, baring it's fangs as it does._

_Mikael pulls his sword and dagger and gets in between her and the wolf, taking a defensive stance in case it attacked. "I'll hold him off...you get out of here."_

_He urged quickly, his silver eyes locking with it's golden ones. She shakes her head and went to his side, frost forming around her hands._

_"I'm not letting you face this alone." She said quickly, catching his attention for a minute. "Elsa..." She shakes her head. "I'm not leaving you..." She said in a somewhat stern voice._

_He sighed a little then nods reluctantly. "Just be ready for anything." He says simply before turning his attention back to the wolf. The beast backs up a little before_

_sprinting towards them then lunging, it's claws aimed for their throats. Elsa sends a small ice storm flying towards it while Mikael dodged it's right arm then slashed at it's left one before everything goes black..._

* * *

She jolts up, almost freezing her room over due to the sudden shock as her eyes shoot open. She starts taking slow, steady breaths to help her relax before rubbing her eyes, clearing her vision up a little. "A dream...just a dream..." She says quietly, getting out of bed and opening her curtains, the light almost burning her eyes until they adjusted to it.

It was probably mid to late morning from what she could tell, which meant it was past time for her to get up. She quickly puts her dress on then fixes her hair before rushing out of her room and down the stairs. The throne room door crashed open as she came rushing in, everyone on the council, Anna and Talia looking at her curiously when she enters.

"Sorry I'm late, I..." She starts before Kai approached her. "Better late than never, your majesty." He smiles before motioning to her throne. She went to it and sits down quietly, Talia and Anna smirking when she did.

"Sleep good?" Talia whispered sarcastically, making her blush a little. "Decent." She said quietly, remembering her dream and the fight that started before she woke up. "So, what's new...?" She asked quickly, waiting on someone to fill her in on what she missed yesterday. "Preparations for the autumn festival have been made and we should be expecting guests any day now." Kai explains calmly.

"Who are we expecting?" She asks calmly, turning her attention to Kai. "Corona, Dublin, Orleans, Glasgow, Valtheim, Siberia, The Southern Isles and...Weaseltown." He grumbles the last two, Elsa and Anna's faces going pale when they heard his answer.

"Will..." Elsa starts before noticing him shrug. "Not that I know of, your majesty." He answered calmly. She lets out a relieved sigh and leans back a little. "Is there anything else concerning the festival?" She asks calmly. "Nothing too pressing at the moment." Kai answers calmly, kind of hanging his head a little.

"But, a few "concerned" members would like to ask you some questions. I tried to talk them out of it, but they wouldn't listen." He explains quietly, causing a small frown to cross her lips before turning her attention to the rest of the council. "Is there anything else we need to discuss?" She asked dully, waiting for the inevitable response.

"Actually, if you wouldn't mind, your majesty a few of us are curious about something." She heard a man call out. She sighs a little. "What, exactly?" She asks suspiciously, the councilman rising from his seat when she does.

"Your new friend, this...Mikael, do you trust him?" He asked curiously, making her tense up and Talia shake her head. "Don't do it...don't piss her off..." She mutters quietly while Elsa just keeps calm. "I trust him enough to know he's not a threat to Arendelle..." She answers calmly, secretly asking herself the same question.

"Sure, he seems like a good person, but he's secretive...if only I knew why he keeps trying to hide..." She says to herself while the councilman studied her quietly. "Are you sure? I've checked our records; he doesn't show up in them." He states, making her tense up a little more.

"They've been investigating him?!" She almost screams, but managed to keep from it. "Maybe he's not from Arendelle. He said he was passing through on his way somewhere else." Anna points out quickly, catching everyone's attention. "Well, I guess we'll find out when the dignitaries arrive, won't we? Maybe one of them will know..." The councilman sneered a little before Elsa lets out a quiet, but annoyed sigh.

"Why is this any of your business anyway?" She asks in a somewhat impatient tone, surprising everyone in the room. "Well, not trying to make assumptions, your majesty, but if you happened to have any plans of...taking him as a suitor, it'd be in everyone's best interest to know if he'd make a suitable king..." He answers bluntly, almost making her completely lose it.

She balls her fists up and tries to get a lid on her frustration so she wouldn't freeze the throne room over.

"Uh oh..." She heard Talia and Anna whisper before shooting the councilman a cold glare. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when the double doors fly open, Olaf and Cedric, the guard captain entering the room. "I hope I'm not interrupting..." He states in an urgent tone, Elsa relaxed a little before turning her attention to them.

* * *

"No, in fact, your timing couldn't be better." She smiles a little before noticing the urgent look on his face. "What's wrong?" She asks quickly, making him raise his eyebrow a little. "Nothing, there's...someone here to see you." He answered calmly, making everyone look at him curiously.

"Did they say who they were?" She raised her eyebrow a little. "He said his name's Mikael." He answers. She smiled a little bit when she heard his name and just keeps her attention focused on Olaf and Cedric just in case she started daydreaming.

"Uh, send him in..." She says quickly. Cedric bows before leaving the room, Olaf running up to the throne and standing between her and Anna. "Is it really him?" Anna asks him quietly. "It's kind of hard to tell without the hood..." He whispered, making Elsa raise her eyebrow a little.

The throne room grew quiet as everyone waits for Mikael to enter, all eyes glued on the door. Half of the court lost interest after a few moments and started to talk among themselves until the doors finally opened, revealing a figure in black armor adorned with a tattered black cloak and silver eyes.

He steps into the light where everyone could see his face, which was covered in light scratches from what everyone could tell upon first glance. The man was pale, fair skinned, had light stubble decorating his face and raven black hair which was fastened in a short ponytail that was fixed with a silver ring decorated with Celtic engravings that nobody could really make out.

He looked like he had gotten a little more sleep, but still had that restless, wild look to him and seemed to have a subtle limp in his left leg, but no one could really notice it unless they looked real close. "Maybe I should have waited until dark..." He thought to himself when he felt the council's eyes on him, the scent of hypocrisy and personal agenda surrounding at least twenty or thirty percent of them, the man who was questioning Elsa before he came in being among them.

He simply keeps his eyes forward, avoiding any contact with the rest of the council, especially considering he could still taste blood on his lips and turning this soon after changing back would not only almost assure that he may never be able to change back, but would result in Arendelle drowning in blood, starting with the council, the royal family and anybody else that got in his way and while he wouldn't mind slinging a few of the council members around like a rag doll, he couldn't risk hurting Elsa or anyone else.

The councilman who had been interrogating Elsa made his way through the crowd, his sights set on Mikael who slowed down a little when he heard him approaching. "She maybe too reserved to do it, but I ain't had to worry with such a luxury. I'm about to give this asshole a piece of my mind..." He grumbles to himself seconds before he felt the man tugging on his shoulder.

He turns around to face him, an obviously impatient and irritated look on his face. "Can I help you?" He asks simply, but sarcastically. Talia's attention went straight to him, followed by Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kai and Gerda. They watched and listened intently to see how this was going to turn out.

"What are your intentions for...?" The man started quickly before Mikael raised his hand, rolling his eyes a little. Now, the entire council watched the scene with wrapped attention. "Look, I'm gonna do you a favor and stop you before you embarrass yourself any more than you already have, I already know what you're going to ask..." He says bluntly, an obviously annoyed tone in his voice.

* * *

"Now, before I answer your question, I wanna know something. What's it to you?" He requests calmly, a surprised look crossing almost everyone's faces. "Well...if you intend to..." Mikael shakes his head while the councilman fumbles to find the words to explain himself.

"Stop, stop...I've heard enough..." He almost grumbles, but everyone still heard him. Elsa smiles a little when she heard Talia and Anna stifling laughter. "Okay, gather 'round, children, gather 'round, I'm about to enlighten a great number of ya..." He called out sarcastically, Kai and Gerda snickering when they saw the dumbfound looks dotting the room.

"I think he can handle himself quite well..." Gerda whispers with a laugh. "Look, I ain't gonna sugarcoat this for ya, yeah, I like the queen, I think she's a sweet, caring, beautiful young woman any man with eyes or at least half a brain could see that." He starts off bluntly, making Elsa blush a little.

"However, if any of you think I intend to marry her and become king or whatever political scheme you have running through your empty heads, I can assure ya that you're way off. I mean sure, if I was here under different circumstances and had plans of staying sure, I'd probably consider it, but personally, I think she can do better than a "reformed" cutthroat." He states quickly, making Elsa's smile fade a little, but in a way she could see where he was coming from whether she really knew it or not.

"So, you admit to being a criminal?" The councilman raised his eyebrow curiously before Mikael shoots him a cold glare. "What's your name?" He asked quickly. "William." The man answers confused.

"Well, William...yeah, I admit to being raised by cutthroats, thieves, rapists, brigands and pirates. I have murdered, plundered, raided, forged, blackmailed, framed, infiltrated, kidnapped, hijacked and even carried out genocide all in the service of people like you who don't have the stones to do it themselves." He answers in a blunt and almost blood freezing tone, making everyone's jaws drop, Elsa included.

William was about to say something before Mikael raised his hand. "Just shut up and listen for once, would ya? Every time you say something you sound like a fucking idiot..." He said simply, most everyone in the room gasping when they heard the remark.

"As I was saying, you and the rest of the council, court, whatever you call it can think what you want about me, I'll be the first to tell ya I've got so much blood on my hands that you'd swear I was the devil incarnate and I can assure you I'm not fit to be king of anything, I ain't even fit to be in the castle, but your queen seems to think otherwise because I happened to beat down a thug that insulted her sister and bought her some chocolate. Sure, one good gesture out of a life of anarchy and war? We all know what that's like, right? I bet about say...twenty, thirty percent of ya do." No one moved or said a word, but William was shaking with every word he said.

"Case and point, you're all entitled to your opinion of me just like the queen is, as different as they maybe, I don't give a flying..." He stopped and took a deep breath before he went too far then puts his arm around William, nearly making him pee his pants.

"Go ahead, paint your "blood soaked black heart" picture of me all ya want...just think about the things you've done to get here before ya do...and remember that if it wasn't for the monsters like me, you'd still be an ant under someone else's boot and that whatever you try to say about me, I can turn it back on ya a thousand fold and you'll be rushing up to your room to drink that poison you've most likely been saving for the right moment because you'd rather kill your fool self than spend the rest of your life in a cage..." He whispers coldly to where nobody else could hear and motions him back into the crowd. William reluctantly returned to his seat with a mortified look on his face as Mikael turns to face Elsa, who wasn't quite sure how to react.

"Sorry about that little display, your majesty I've just had a long, grueling night and would rather not be interrogated by paranoid politicians right now..." He says in a blunt, but apologetic tone, bowing respectfully as he does. "It's um...it's alright." She said a little nervously, motioning for him to stand. "Well, I think that's enough excitement for one day..." Kai suggests quickly before William stands again.

"Your majesty..." He starts before Elsa raised her hand. "Court's cancelled for the rest of the day..." She says quickly, her tone more impatient than before. Everyone in the room exchanged looks then quietly left the throne room, save for Elsa, Anna, Talia, Mikael and Olaf.

* * *

"Anna, why don't me, you and Olaf try and dig up some chocolate?" Talia suggests quickly. "Ooooh! Sounds good!" She said quickly, her and Olaf following her to the kitchen, leaving Mikael and Elsa alone. Their eyes locked and he could already tell that she was caught off guard by his behavior, but so far she hadn't scolded him for it. She slowly motioned him closer, making him raise his eyebrow a little before reluctantly approaching her.

She stands when he got close enough and studies him quietly. "It's a long, depressing story. Trust me, you don't want to..." He started before she hugs him tightly, catching him off guard when she does, but he hugged her back. "I don't care, you can tell me when you're ready...I'm just glad you're okay..." She says softly, rubbing her cheek against his chest a little bit. "Were any of you hurt?" He asked calmly, enjoying her embrace.

"No, we all made it back in one piece." She said reassuringly before hearing him let out a relieved sigh. "What happened?" She asks gently, feeling him tense up a little which worried her a bit. "I heard a few moving through the woods, so I went to track them down and told Talia toe get you out just in case." He answers simply, meeting her ice blue eyes again.

"They...ambushed us in a clearing after we started coming back...it's like they planned the whole thing." She says, her voice shaking a little. Mikael would have been more surprised, but he remembered the ambush, he was there.

"How did you get away if you don't mind my asking?" He inquires softly, feeling the temperature drop around them a little when Elsa remembers her dream along with the ambush. "Do you know anything about...a black werewolf?" She asks quietly, looking deep into his eyes.

His eyes dropped a little before he lets out a soft sigh, shaking his head a little. "Can't say I do..." He answers softly, part of him wishing he didn't have to lie to her. She looked at him curiously for a moment before just leaving it alone.

"Are you...still set on leaving Arendelle?" She asked shakily, the look in her eyes almost begging him to stay. He hesitated for a minute, feeling like he was being torn in two. On the one hand, if he did stay, that'd put Arendelle in greater danger with a werewolf being within the city and he'd never forgive himself should the worst happen and nobody be able to stop him fast enough.

On the other hand, if he didn't stay, there's no telling how much it'd hurt Elsa or how fast she'd be able to get over it if she even could and... "Shit...why did I have to bond with one of my old victims?" He thinks to himself before reluctantly nodding.

"I think I can stay a little longer..." He says calmly, her face lighting up like a kid on their birthday when she heard his answer and a snow flurry forming over their heads. He looks up when the snow starts falling around them and chuckles a little bit before looking back at her. "There's just something about her being nervous that's..." He thinks to himself before stopping, a strange feeling tickling his stomach when their eyes lock again.

A gentle smile crossed his lips when he meets her gaze and he felt like he could actually relax, like just being around her made all of his troubles just melt away. They started blushing a little and kind of give each other puppy dog looks before Mikael remembers the snow flurry above them.

"Uh, Elsa...as much as I liked playing in the snow yesterday, it's probably not a good idea to do it in the throne room..." He said calmly, laughing a little when he does. She looked up and blushed madly, an embarrassed expression on her face as she dismantled it.

"Sorry..." She said shyly before she felt his fingers lace around her hand. "Don't be. It was...cute." He smiles a little, making her giggle a bit before she timidly looks back at him. "You okay?" He asks softly, his voice making her skin tingle. "Yeah, I'm fine." She says cutely, playing with her braid when she did.

"Mikael...?" She asked shyly. "Yeah?" He studies her a little. "Since...I seem to have the rest of the day off...how would you...like to, I don't know...taking a walk with me?" She finished with a cute smile.

He grew silent again, honestly he was hoping he could get a little more rest before hunting the pack again and hopefully taking the rest of them out before they did any more damage, but at the same time he wanted to spend as much time with Elsa as he could before moving on again.

"Dammit, what is it about her that..." He mumbles to himself before turning his attention back to her. "Sure, why not..." He says simply, Elsa's smile growing as she offers him her arm. He laughs a little before taking it and escorting her out of the throne room, feeling more relaxed now than when he first got to Arendelle.

* * *

"I'm sorry about..." She starts before he shakes his head. "Don't do that. I heard him asking you similar questions and to be honest, it was everything I could do to keep from just barging in." He says simply, making her study him a little.

"You and politicians don't get along real well, huh?" She asked softly, almost making chuckle a little bit, but it was more out of amusement than humor. "If you and your sister hadn't been so hell-bent on trying to be-friend me, I probably would have extorted so much out of both of ya that I'd even consider it cruel." She frowns a little when she heard the comment, but didn't really pay it any attention.

"Sorry, that was...distasteful." He said calmly. "It's okay. I think you're a better person than that, though." She said, Mikael's head hanging a little when she does. "Well, I appreciate that and I wish it was true, but unfortunately I'm afraid I'll never be that man..." He says, his tone a little dull. She sighs a little before gently taking his hand.

"I don't see why not..." She says softly. He looks her over for a minute before gently stroking her hand. "A few good deeds out of a lifetime of evil isn't enough to change someone..." He said simply before looking away for a moment.

"Or absolve a man of his cursed existence..." He mumbled to himself before looking towards her again. "But, it's a good opportunity for a second chance." She said gently, a small smile on her face. He found himself a little dumbfound by her response, that was something he never really put much stock in or considered was second chances, but the way she said it got him thinking.

"Monsters don't deserve a second chance..." He muttered, hoping she wouldn't hear him. "Monster..." that was a word Elsa knew too well, she had the same opinion of herself after what hurting Anna and had even been called one before, now she had met someone who was dealing with the same stress she was, but he wasn't even giving himself a chance.

"You're not a monster..." She said quietly, almost making him burst into tears. "If you only knew..." He thinks to himself before meeting her eyes again. "You sure about that...?" He asked softly, fighting his feelings back so he wouldn't just break down in front of her.

"A monster wouldn't feel the need to stand up for someone he cared about..." She smiles a little before looking up to find that they were at the edge of the forest. "Wow...I didn't even know we left the courtyard." She said quietly before looking towards Mikael again.

"So...where to?" She asked shyly. He shrugs a little. "Where would you be more comfortable going?" He asks softly, noticing a kind of eager look in her eyes. "Well, if you wouldn't mind a little extra walking I'd like to show you something..." She suggests cutely.

He raised his eyebrow a little when she said that. "What is she up to...?" He asked himself before meeting her eyes. "Sure. Lead the way." He managed to smile a little bit when he answers. Elsa smiles before motioning towards a tall mountain.

"We're heading there, the north mountain. It'll take a little while, but..." She stops, not wanting to spoil the surprise. He nods a little as they start walking. "Anything we have to worry about on the way?" He asked calmly. She shakes her head a little. "The worst we'll have to deal with is wolves...and these actually look like wolves." She answers calmly, smiling more when she heard him laughing at her comment about the wolves.

After a while, they reached the north mountain and Mikael scans the rocky face in front of them. It wouldn't be a problem for him to scale it, but he wasn't really comfortable even letting out his claws around her because they'd most likely terrify her.

* * *

"This way..." She said sweetly, motioning him towards an icy path leading straight to the summit. "Convenient..." He said simply, studying the path before following her. "Have you ever had somewhere you could just...get away?" She asks softly.

The question made his blood burn, not really because she asked it, but because he really couldn't give her a straight answer. He couldn't really run from himself. "No, not really...I don't like staying in one place for too long." He answers calmly, keeping his head down a little.

"Why? If you don't mind my asking." She looks back at him. He got quiet again, every fiber of his being screaming for him to just tell her the truth, but his mind telling him that she'd most likely run him out of Arendelle when he did if she didn't simply have him executed. "No, probably just banished. I don't see her giving an execution order unless there wasn't another way..." He said to himself.

"My past...has a way of catching up to me no matter how much I try to run from it..." He answered dully, his voice shaking a little when he did. She waits for him to get closer before gently lacing her fingers around his hand, hoping it'd help him feel a little better.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to talking about it..." He said quickly before noticing a caring smile on her face. "Don't be, I understand." She says gently as the path ends, revealing a glistening castle made completely of ice decorating the mountain summit.

"Wow..." He says quietly, almost stunned by the masterpiece before him. Elsa smiles and moves a little closer to him. "What do you think?" She asks sweetly. "It's...incredible..." He said in a kind of dumbfound tone. She giggles at his reaction a little.

"Thank you." She said calmly, her smile growing a little. He turned to face her, a confused look on his face. "Wait...you..." He starts before finding himself speechless for the first time in years, possibly ever. She nods a little while he looks between her and the castle.

"With..." He starts again in a fascinated tone. She giggled again then meets his eyes. "Yes." She said softly, watching him a little when she does. This was probably the first time she's actually seen him so fascinated by something and it was kind of cute seeing him fumble with his words like he was. "

You've...got quite a gift." He said calmly, his voice still sounding intrigued. She blushed a little when he said that, even though everyone in Arendelle had gotten used to her powers, a good few of them still acted a little intimidated by her and it was a nice change for once.

"Thanks." She said sweetly, gently pulling him forward. "You wanna go inside?" She asks invitingly. "Sure, yeah, of course." He stutters a little as he follows her, his eyes moving between her and the castle before he noticed a boulder coming to life in front of them and turning into a giant snowman.

He gets in between Elsa and the snowman in case it tried to attack them, his instincts on high alert as he unknowingly sprouts his claws and fangs when he did. The snowman looks down at them, his attention turning straight to Mikael before taking a defensive stance.

Elsa stopped when she felt Mikael's arms shoot out in front of her before looking up to see him and Marshmallow about to square off then gently lowers his arm then steps out in front of him. "Marshmallow, it's okay. He's a friend." She called out calmly, catching the snowman's attention before he relaxes then bows.

"Okay, just be careful, snow queen. He resembles a wolf." He said calmly before turning back into a boulder while Elsa turns back to Mikael, a warm smile on her face. "Okay, that's cleared up." She says sweetly before studying him a minute.

"Mikael?" She calls out. He didn't respond, move or even show signs of relaxing and looked like he had his arms out with his fingers flared like he was getting ready to claw at something. If she was standing by him right now, she'd probably hear him snarling warily as his flickering eyes stay fixed on Marshmallow.

* * *

She raised her eyebrow a little and cautiously moves closer to him. "Mikael...?" She calls again nervously, only to be met with silence again. She moves a little closer, cautiously reaching for his hand before lacing her fingers around it.

"Mikael, it's okay. Relax." She says in a comforting tone, gently stroking his hand with her thumb when she does. "Mikael?" She asks softly, looking in his eyes. His heart was racing almost too loud for him to even focus and he didn't notice her right in front of him until she took his hand, her cool, soothing touch snapping him back to reality and clearing his head as his claws and fangs quickly retract before she could see them then meeting her eyes after his stop flickering.

"Sorry...my reflexes get the best of me sometimes..." He said simply, hoping she wouldn't press the matter further. She studies him a little before nodding, choosing to leave it alone so she wouldn't make him uncomfortable despite her growing curiosity.

"Will you be okay?" She asks softly, concern in her voice. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He nods a little before clearing his throat. "Shall we?" He asks quickly, acting like he didn't even acknowledge almost having a mental breakdown in front of her. She nods a little and leads him across the bridge leading to her ice castle.

He opened the door and respectfully held it open for her, making a smile creep across her face again before she enters. He quietly follows behind her, looking around a little restlessly before looking at the sky through the doors leading to the balcony.

"At least I didn't turn..." He grumbled to himself before he found himself looking her over, a light smile pulling at his lips when he does. "Dammit, not again..." He shakes his head, trying to turn his attention away from her, but finding that he couldn't.

She was beautiful, of course he was going to look, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable so, why couldn't he look away? She looked back a little to notice him looking her over before he quickly looked away, a playful smile creeping across her face. "Something catch your eye?" She teases a little, making him blush madly.

"Ummm, I was just...looking around. It's amazing..." He said quickly, trying to act normal. She giggles and walks towards him, offering him her hand. He watched her a minute before reluctantly taking it as she leads him up the stairs...

* * *

**Yup, cliffhanger. Gotta love it, huh? This one was getting a little too long, so I'll pick it right back up in the next chapter.**

**I would have had Elsa chew the dude in the council out, but I honestly don't know what her "Pissed the fuck off" mood**

**would be or if she even has that bad of a temper, so by default, I decided Mikael would do it.**

**So, to keep from making this any longer than it already is, enjoy and I'll be back with a new one a.s.a.p.**


	7. Chapter 7: Someone To Talk To

She leads him into an open room that opens up into a balcony that overlooked Arendelle, the same door he looked through when he was trying to distract himself earlier.

The more he studied the castle, the more fascinated he became with it and her. It was beautiful, enchanting even, but at the same time, seemed to have a sad past, all in all it was one of a kind, much like Elsa herself. That's when he started wondering..."What inspired her to do this?" He thinks to himself, not wanting to ask directly, especially considering how secretive he's been, it wouldn't be fair.

Unfortunately, though his curiosity was starting to get the best of him and she could tell, he was hesitating a little more than usual and frankly just looked like he was getting uncomfortable.

She slowly brings his eyes to meet hers and gives him a warm smile. "Go ahead, ask." She says softly. He kind of looked to the side before looking back in her eyes and finally deciding to just ask.

"Where did you get the idea for...?" He stopped and kind of waves his finger around, referring to the ice castle. Her smile faded a little bit, but the question didn't really bother her, it's just that Arendelle hadn't quite had time to recover from that incident, especially with the werewolves showing up not long after and her not really finding out until recently thanks to certain members of the council trying to cover it up.

"I need to ask you something first..." She states calmly. He grew quiet for a moment, he had a pretty good idea what she was going to ask and he hated talking about it, but fair's fair.

He nods a little and waits on her to ask. "Why keep so many secrets?" She asks, her voice a little hesitant when she does. He didn't respond right off the bat, which made her a little nervous, but not really in an uncomfortable way.

He finally just sighs then meets her eyes. "Let's just say the past can be a wilderness of horrors that no one should have the displeasure of learning about..." He answers, his tone almost depressing.

She nods contently; it was a fair answer at the least even if it left her with more questions. "Where to start..." She says to herself, looking away for a moment when she does. He studies her quietly, waiting on her answer, though he was expecting a similar response to his.

"When I was a little girl, Anna and I were playing in the throne room. We built Olaf for the first time that night, ice skated and so on." She smiled a little remembering the fun they had when they were little before continuing.

"Anyway, I made these snow mounds for her to jump on and she just kept getting higher and higher until I couldn't keep up with her. I slipped and she was about to fall when..." She chokes on the rest of the sentence, almost bursting into tears after remembering that, the one thing she couldn't quite come to peace with no matter how hard she tried.

He felt like gutting himself after hearing her answer, this whole time he's been focused on repressing his own demons that he didn't acknowledge that she may have been dealing with similar ones.

His head drops a little when he heard her whimpering a bit like she was about to start crying before instinctively pulling her close and holding her tightly, trying to help her feel better.

She buries her head in his chest as they embraced; trying to hold back tears to no avail while he gently strokes her hair. "I'm sorry, it ain't my business..." He whispered softly, making her look up a little.

* * *

"No, it's okay. It's just hard letting that go..." She says softly, still whimpering a little when she speaks. He nods a little, he knew exactly how she felt, it still hurt to be around her no matter how close they've gotten, but somehow it was starting to get a little easier.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but how did you deal with it?" She asks shakily, making him twitch a little. He thought for a minute, not really sure what to tell her considering he's still beating himself up about almost killing her when she was little.

"Well, I ain't gonna lie, that's a tough one. Most of us turn to drink, many use contraband, and others simply use sex as a distraction, but they were your more cold blooded fiends..." He stopped after feeling her tense up with the last part and shakes his head a little.

"Too far..." He said to himself. "Personally, I prefer the herb, it helps me think clearer, I ain't stealing anybody's innocence and I don't make a complete fool of myself. Don't get me wrong, I like a strong drink every now and then, but my mood tends to flip flop when I drink." He says simply, helping her relax a little. "But, no matter the incentive, some things can't be completely blocked out." He said dully, looking down a little bit when he starts seeing the whole night again.

She studies him quietly, feeling his heart rate rise after he looks away, followed by the muscles in his chest tightening and even stretching like something was trying to rip it's way out of him.

He yelped quietly when the pain hit him, desperately trying to get a grip on himself, but finding it only made his adrenaline pump even more, almost making him completely turn right there.

He groaned helplessly before letting Elsa go and making his way outside, but not before he felt her embrace him from behind, her gentle hand stroking his chest and trying to coax him into relaxing.

The wolf almost took over when she grabbed him, but after he felt her touch, he managed to fight it back enough to where the change started to reverse. He goes limp in her arms, almost passing out from the sudden attack and tries to catch his breath again.

She carefully lays him down, still stroking his chest in an attempt to comfort him when she feels him shaking and twitching like he was trying to recover from being hit by lightning.

"Are you okay?" She asks quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine." He answers, hearing her heart quicken a little when her concern grew. He was hiding something and she knew it, but she knew he most likely wouldn't tell her exactly what unless she just kept asking and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

"What happened?" She asks quietly, helping him sit up a little and gently wrapping her arm around him in case it happened again. "Honestly, I don't know. Something happened when I was younger that made me start having these...random attacks that nearly paralyze me or just knock me out." He explained calmly, mentally kicking himself for lying to her again, but he still thought it was for the best.

Her head drops when she heard him, a snow flurry forming around them afterwards. "Do you remember what?" She asked nervously, almost wishing she hadn't even asked.

"I have a pretty good idea..." He said dully, looking down a little himself and catching her full attention. She was about to ask him something else, but quickly stops herself before she does. He looks towards her when she hesitates and studies her.

He could already tell what she wanted to ask and he felt it was only fair to give her a little of the truth anyway. "You sure you wanna know?" He asks calmly, making her raise her eyebrow a little bit.

* * *

"What?" She asks casually, now wondering how he knew what she was thinking. "Why I'm so distant, why I have these attacks and so on. You looked like you were about to ask, not trying to make presumptions or anything." He answers calmly, meeting her eyes when he does.

She nods a little bit before moving a little closer to him. "If you feel like telling me..." She says softly, stroking his cheek a little when she does. "You told me about your childhood demon; it feels fair that I tell you about one of mine, if you still want to know anyway." He says cautiously, kind of hoping that'd make her lose interest in the subject.

"It may help you feel a little better if you talk about it." She said gently, the tone in her voice letting him know that she really cared and that she was just trying to help, which made him feel even guiltier for having to hide his nature.

"There was this kingdom thirteen years ago, kind of small, out of the way, not really much to it and wasn't really too much of a threat to anybody. They had been paying the leader of our little clan, a brute named Robert for a couple of years until they just decided they weren't gonna let him shake them down anymore." He starts calmly, his body hurting with every false word that escaped his lips while Elsa listens intently, a mix of concern and sadness decorating her face.

"Anyway, he decided to make an example out of them by burning the castle down, with the royal family inside and gave me the honor of setting the blaze..." He continues, a mortified look crossing her face when she heard the end. "Why you...?" She squeaks a little while she tries to contain her shock.

"Because I was a kid, I was just small enough to infiltrate the castle without drawing attention." He answers a little bluntly, but she could tell he wasn't proud of it. "What did you do when...?" She started quietly.

"Honestly, I accepted his orders without question, listened to his plan and marched with the entire clan to deliver the "package"." He says calmly, keeping his eyes forward until he felt her fingers stroke under his chin, which made him close them comfortably before he remembered that he was telling her a story.

"Do you really want to hear the rest?" He asks hesitantly as their eyes meet again. "Will you at least tell me if you went through with it?" She requests in a considerate tone.

He nods a little; he owes her more than she even knows, especially since he was still lying to her. "I got in, spread the oil and was about to light it when..." He stops, not really sure how to explain the rest without hinting that he was talking about her.

She just waits patiently for him to finish, a comforting look in her eyes. "A little girl came in, horror in her eyes when she saw the demon who was about to burn her and her family alive just because they were tired of being bullied by brigands." His voice shook as he finished the sentence, their hearts shattering at the same time afterwards despite picturing different incidents.

She hugs him tightly, trying to offer him comfort and gently resting her head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around her and carefully pulls her close, tears streaming from his eyes when he does, but somehow that didn't keep him from relaxing in her arms.

"You can't carry that around all your life, you'll only end up hating yourself. Trust me, I've been there." She starts gently before tenderly touching his cheek. "You haven't killed anybody..." He kind of mutters.

"I almost did..." She says quietly, his eyes studying her when she did. "A few months ago, during my coronation party, Anna and I got into an argument and things got a little heated. Then before I knew it, I had revealed my powers to everyone in Arendelle, several foreign dignitaries and Anna; I'll explain that later if you want to know. Then, I fled Arendelle, plunging it into an eternal winter as I ran and came here then built my ice castle and decided it was best to be alone." She explains, Mikael listening intently as she does.

"What...was the argument about if you don't mind my asking?" He inquires hesitantly. "She was about to marry a man she just met and wanted my blessing. I told her no." She answers calmly, almost making his mouth drop. "She was about to marry somebody she just met?" He asks in a kind of stunned tone.

* * *

"Yeah. She was lonely, he was charming and...he asked her to marry him and she agreed." She answers a little quickly, acting like she wasn't fond of talking about whoever this man was.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about...?" He asks, feeling kind of stupid after he did. "No, of course not. His name was Hans; he's a prince from the Southern Isles, well former prince." She answers calmly, a look of relief forming on Mikael's face.

"I take it he didn't leave on good terms." He says calmly. "No, he was using my sister to get close to me so he could kill both of us and become king. It didn't help much having already put Arendelle in an eternal winter, then Anna tracking me down only for me to shoot a piece of ice into her heart and basically freeze her to death..." She started tearing up towards the end, almost making him start crying again.

"She sacrificed herself to save me from Hans and...that act of love was enough to thaw the ice in her heart and bring her back, then I realized that same love was the key to thawing Arendelle." She finishes, wiping tears from her eyes when she does.

He sighs a little, now he was figuring it out. She definitely knew what he was dealing with as she went through it all herself, just under a few different circumstances compared to him. What really got him, though is how much they really seemed to have in common despite being from two very different worlds and having two rather different powers, yet it's like they felt the exact same pain ever since their reluctant meeting, possibly before then.

"All this time and she's been going through the same thing..." He thinks to himself, unknowingly sniffling a bit before he felt her gently stroke his cheek then wiping tears from his face.

He looks in her direction to see tears streaming from her eyes and a small, but comforting smile on her face as she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him close, his arms embracing her comfortably as they grew closer.

"Maybe I should tell her, she has a pretty good idea what it's like. Well, she hasn't spilled as much blood as I have, though...and there's no telling how she'll react should she learn I almost killed her..." He debates in his mind while they relax in each other's arms, Elsa timidly kissing his cheek afterwards and making him blush madly.

"I have a request, if you don't mind..." She asks, her voice shaking a little from her crying. "Sure, what is it?" He asks quietly, trying to hold his own tears back. "I know you've been trying to leave Arendelle for the past couple of days and I don't want to sound like I'm trying to keep you prisoner or anything, but...will you at least stay for the autumn festival, then if you still want to leave none of us will try and talk you out of it." She says softly, almost breaking him right there and making him think for a minute.

He was still set on leaving to keep from putting Arendelle in anymore danger, but he was starting to wonder if that was really a good idea, especially with the wolves being as active as they were here.

Something was begging him to stay in Arendelle, try his chances with her and hopefully..."That's it...she's under my skin...now what?" He thought, taking a deep breath before looking in her eyes.

"I think I can do that..." He says calmly, still hesitating a little when he did, but it didn't phase her. "Really...great...okay!" She hugged him so tight that they both fell down, with her laying on top of him while an excited look decorates her face after hearing his answer. He chuckled a little when she tackled him and just holds her close, hoping he didn't just guarantee their slaughter.

They lock eyes again, their breath tickling each other's skin and making them tremble timidly, but in a comfortable way. She smiles softly, discreetly eyeing his lips before gently stroking his cheek, which made a light smile form on his face.

They started blushing a little, neither of them really sure what to do next when they find themselves enthralled by each other. Before either of them knew it, they were leaning closer together until their lips finally meet, both of them letting out a light moan the moment they did.

After about five seconds, nerves got the best of them and they reluctantly stopped, their faces red as they quietly study each other and start shaking more than they were before. They shyly lock eyes again, secretly starting craving each other more now than ever, but neither of them wanting risk making the other uncomfortable.

* * *

She gently lays her head on his chest, a content smile on her face as he wraps his arms around her, his embrace making her entire body nearly go limp as she relaxed in his arms. He carefully plays with a lock of her hair, his finger tickling her forehead and making her giggle every now and then which made him smile a little.

"Have you ever let anybody this close before?" She asks softly, making his smile fade a little bit. "No, I usually try to avoid people as much as possible..." He answers quietly. "Why?" She asks quietly.

"I was taught to survive, to hide in plain sight and trust people long enough to do business with them...then kill them if they tried anything. The kids in our clan didn't have snowball fights, play hide and seek or anything like that, we had tactical training and...gladiator matches." He explains in a low tone, making her meet his eyes again.

"What were the stakes?" She asks hesitantly. "Whoever was still breathing..." He answers dully, almost making her go whiter than the snow when he does. "They made you kill each other just for amusement...?" She almost couldn't even ask she was so horrified.

"It was more like an initiation, but I'm sure that sick bastard enjoys watching it. However many of us were still alive earned a place in the clan and the strongest out of said recruits, became officers." He said, his eyes saddening a little when he did.

"That's cruel, what kind of monsters would do that to children?" She looks at him, sadness glistening in her eyes. "The same monster that would make a deal with a werewolf to gain power then feed his entire army his tainted blood and turn them into monsters just so he could spill more blood." He answers, his tone a little cold, but with good reason.

"Did you...?" She starts before he shakes his head. "That was around the same time I had my incident with the little girl and the same time I left. I don't know how long they've been werewolves, but I've been hunting them ever since I found out." He answered.

"You mean, the werewolves attacking Arendelle are..." He nods before she could finish. "My old clan, yeah. I was hoping that if nothing else, I could lead them away from Arendelle and possibly thin the pack out a little, but I think Robert's been doing a little drafting." He explains, catching her full attention again.

"What makes you say that?" She asks nervously. "Because the last time I actually found one of their hiding places, it looked like their numbers keep growing no matter how many die, and that's with taking the precautions to make sure they don't come back." He answers, making her shiver a little bit.

"And he's trying to infect everyone in Arendelle..." She said quietly. "Do you have any idea what he's planning?" She asks softly, hoping he'd be able to give her an answer.

He shook his head in disappointment. "That's what I've been trying to find out since I got here. If he's been this busy in one place, though, it can't be good." He says bluntly before ice starts creeping up his arms and chest, but being a werewolf, the cold didn't affect him like it did with most and he just holds her, trying to comfort her a little.

"I'll do everything I can to stop him. My word may not be worth much, but I'll do whatever it takes to live up to it." He said in a reassuring tone before feeling her snuggle up to him comfortably and start relaxing again.

"Thank you..." She whispers gently. "No problem..." He says softly, stroking her shoulder a little and making her smile again. "I owe it to ya after all..." He mouths to himself while she wasn't looking and carefully cuddles her, this has been the worst his power has acted up since he got to Arendelle and he didn't want to risk hurting her in any way.

"What time is it?" She asked curiously, making him look towards the balcony to see the sun setting. "Time, I ain't exactly sure, but it's around dusk, I think." He says calmly, making her look up and follow his gaze.

"We need to get back to Arendelle..." She says softly, laying her head down again. "Yeah..." He nods a little, but neither of them moved. "You don't want to either, huh?" He asked wittily, making her giggle a bit.

"Not really..." She says cutely, smiling playfully. "Tell ya what, we'll watch the sunset, then we'll go. Sound good?" He suggests somewhat sarcastically, picturing the rather cheesy scenario. She looks in his eyes, her smile growing when they meet and she takes his hand.

"Of course!" She says happily, rushing to her feet and helping him sit up in the process.

"Damn, did they have a wolf in their family or something? They're strong for humans." He asked himself as he stood up, following her to the balcony when their fingers laced through each other as she started pulling him behind her.

* * *

She carefully leans against the rails when they made it outside, her and Mikael each draping an arm around each other and smiling contently as they enjoy the moment. Elsa gently lays her head on his shoulder while the sun sinks lower in the sky, suddenly remembering her dream from last night, but blocking it out of her mind when she felt him softly kiss her forehead.

"What do you plan on doing, you know after...?" She starts curiously, stopping herself before somehow offending him. "After I deal with Robert?" He finished calmly, making her nod her head shyly.

He didn't respond, that was a good question, what were his plans after killing Robert and scattering the pack, that was something he never really thought about before. "I've never really thought about it that much to be honest; I've been so preoccupied tracking him down that I never took the time to consider what I'd do when it's all over." He answers in a kind of curious tone like he was questioning his own answer.

She kind of studies him out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to move from where she was. "Have you ever considered settling down somewhere, maybe...you know." She suggests in a gentle tone, noticing his smile fade a little when she did.

"Not after ending so many myself. I feel that even if I wanted to, whatever gods that watch over us wouldn't think me worthy of having my own..." He says in a somewhat quiet tone, hanging his head a little until she strokes his chin with her free hand.

"You never know until you take the chance..." She says softly, making his smile come back a little. "You want me to stay that bad, huh?" He asks playfully, making her blush a little.

"I want you to at least think about it before actually leaving. You shouldn't have to spend your life alone, or even looking over your shoulder all the time...no one should have to suffer with that." She says gently, making him think more on her request.

She made a really good point, he's been focused on hiding his nature, chasing his clan and satisfying his lust for revenge that he's not only made himself so paranoid that his own shadow will occasionally drive him nuts, but he's gotten so used to being alone that "mortal emotions" have become all, but completely foreign to him and his curiosity was growing.

"Does she really like me that much...?" He asked himself before looking towards her. "And if I still thought it best to leave...?" He inquires curiously, but hesitantly before her smile fades a little. "Then I won't stop you, or let anyone else stop you..." She said in a kind of pitiful tone that made his heart sink.

"Fuck, this hurts..." He thought to himself before sighing a little. "I'll think about it. I can't make any promises, though." He says calmly, making her smile again. "I understand, just remember you're always welcome in Arendelle, no matter what." She said sweetly, holding him a little tighter when she does.

He carefully pulls her closer and kind of cuddles up to her while the last rays of sunlight disappears behind the trees. "We need to go; we've probably got a search party after us already." He says in a reluctant tone.

"I don't think a few more minutes will hurt anybody..." She said cutely, a playful smile crossing her lips. He laughs a little, making her smile grow some more. "Sure, a few minutes won't hurt anybody..." He says playfully before she snuggles closer to him, their bodies comfortably pressing each other when she does, which made them start blushing.

"Elsa..." He says softly. "Yeah?" She asks through a comfortable sigh. "Thanks...I know I've been an asshole since we met and really don't deserve anything you've done for me, but..." She gently placed her finger over his lips before he finished and starts playing with his hair.

"It's no trouble, I'm happy to help. Besides, it probably wouldn't kill you to be around people a little more." She teased him a little at the end. His smile kind of dropped, but it wasn't enough for her to actually notice. "It's not me I'm worried about..." He thinks to himself before they hug each other tightly...

* * *

**It may be a safe bet to get used to cliffhangers like this, because I really don't like the idea of "ridiculously long chapters" that**

**drag on past at least 9,000 words, I don't know about y'all, but I feel like it's one of those things that just drones on and on**

**about details that can easily be covered in the next chapter. (Trust me; I learned that the hard way.)**

**Anyway, here's chapter 7? I know it's kinda cheesy and repetitive on several occasions, but romance scenes so ain't my strong point**

**and personally, I like the idea of "taking it slow", I feel like it makes things more interesting for one thing and it establishes a realistic connection**

**between the characters, in any aspect. And lastly, yeah I know the kissing scene was disappointing, but come on, did you really expect me to**

**just write them making out this early in the story? I mean, come on, yeah I did the whole "instant spark" thing, but that's just a little too out there if you ask me.**

**Don't get me wrong, I thought about it, but I figured it'd kind of ruin the point of the story if I did.**

**Well, y'all enjoy, thanks for reading and well, y'all know the rest, I guess. Have another soon...**

**P.s.: I can't believe this has gotten over 1,000 views in the time it has. I'm glad y'all are enjoying it that much; I was honestly thinking this would**

**end up being a bust, but I thank y'all for proving me wrong... ;)**


	8. Chapter 8: Nature of the Beast

It had been at least a half hour since they left and started making their way back to Arendelle, the moon lighting their way and Mikael getting a little nervous. Sure, the "werewolves only turn during a full moon." thing was mostly a myth, but the chances of turning were much higher at night and usually grew the fuller the moon got and tonight, it was damn close, in fact the only thing that seemed to keep him from completely losing control was Elsa, who had her arm locked with his and was smiling contently.

"What were they like?" She asks curiously, making him raise his eyebrow a little. "Who?" He says in a kind of confused tone. "Your parents. Are they like Robert or are they different?" She continues when he shrugs a little.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell ya. I never knew them..." He answers, a sad look crossing her face when he does. "They're...?" Her voice squeaks a little when she starts remembering her parents.

"Depends on who you ask. Robert says they are, but about half the clan thinks he's lying. But, most of the clan are made up of blood-crazed psychopaths who got hooked on too much contraband and would most likely gut somebody for looking at them wrong." He answers in a somewhat blunt tone, making her face drop a little more.

"How did you keep from completely losing your mind with them?" She asks, feeling a little embarrassed for blurting it out like she did, but she felt a little better when he let out a light laugh.

"Plenty of drink and plenty of the leaf." He said bluntly, he wasn't gonna lie, if it wasn't for that, he'd probably be crazier than any of them. "That and being allowed to crack their skulls whenever I wanted to helped a lot." He chuckles a little bit.

"Did you have any rules or laws of any kind?" She asks through a light giggle. "Survival of the fittest, we considered what you would call "laws" as "guidelines" and just chose not to follow them." He answers calmly, making her look at him curiously.

"The kill is your prize!" He'd always say. How much blood you spill, how much pillaging, ransacking and kidnapping you did determined whether you ate like a king or ate with the rats. Other than that we dealt with our own problems in our own way at our own discretion." He explains, making her eyes drop a little.

"Why would someone do something so cruel...?" She asks softly. "To make sure nobody tried to rise against him and basically keep them from accusing him of hypocrisy." He answers calmly, her face going whiter than usual. "The things people do for power, huh?" He says in a simple tone before she looks in his eyes.

"Is that...what you thought of us when we met...?" She asks hesitantly, not really sure if she'd want to hear his answer. "Is that really...damn, no wonder she acted like she just watched somebody kill a puppy..." He grumbles to himself, feeling more ashamed now than he did the night they met.

"Of course not...was that really the way I was acting?" He says in a rather ashamed tone. "Well, you kept acting like you couldn't get away from us fast enough and..." She stops, not really sure how to finish the sentence without making him feel worse.

"Shit...I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it that way...I've just been having a bad week..." He says, gently pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her. "Don't let it bother you; I know you didn't mean it." She says softly, cuddling up to him a little as they walk.

"I didn't know it hurt you that much, though, I would have apologized sooner if I did. Tell ya what, if there's any way you can think of that I can do to make up for it, I'll do it, no questions asked." He says calmly, making her smile more.

"Mikael...it's okay, don't worry about it." She says gently, looking deep into his eyes. "You sure?" He asks calmly. "I'm sure." She said as she rests her head on his arm. He kind of rolled his eyes, not really sure how to react to her answer, he was used to the "eye for an eye" rule and her not asking him to make up for that just seemed...odd. "If you say so..." He kind of mutters before suddenly stopping.

She looks around curiously when they stopped. "What's wrong?" She asks quietly. He didn't answer, his silver eyes scanning the clearing they wandered into, which looked a little too homey for his comfort.

* * *

"It's a den..." He thinks to himself before quietly sniffing the air, picking up several gathered scents closing in fast. "We're trespassing..." He told her quietly, making a curious, but confused look form on her face.

"What do you mean...?" She asked quietly before she saw it, yellow eyes, a lot of them and they were closing them in. "Wolves?" She asked. He nods, his eyes not leaving the snarling pack that surrounded them.

"We've wandered into their den..." He says calmly, which made her nervous. "What do we do...?" She looks to him. "Just relax...don't move and don't provoke them..." He says quietly, though it didn't really help as much as she hoped.

After a while the wolves started creeping closer, their eyes locked on the intruders and their teeth bared as they started savoring the taste of the meal to come. Elsa tried to keep herself from completely meeting their eyes and hoped she wouldn't end up freezing the forest over while Mikael simply stares them down the closer they got, his eyes starting to flicker a little when they heard a loud howling coming from behind the pack.

The wolves look back and make a path through the circle, which quickly caught Elsa's attention and urging her to study them a little closer. She looked up at Mikael for a moment to see that he hadn't moved or made a sound since the wolves started closing in on them.

A lupine shadow started coming over the hill and into the den, it's eyes moving between the pack and the intruders. This wolf was bigger than the rest and seemed to have a lighter pelt.

"The alpha..." Mikael muttered, making her study the larger wolf for a moment before it locks eyes with her, a low growl in it's throat. "Wait here..." He said calmly before reluctantly letting her to then approaching the wolf.

"Wait, Mikael..." She calls out before the wolf snarls louder and bares it's teeth, hunching it's shoulders like it was getting ready to attack until noticing Mikael approach.

The wolf studied him for a moment, it's teeth still bared, but it's stance calmed a little as he places himself between them, his eyes still flickering like candlelight. Their eyes lock as the wolf started snarling again, crouching down in case it had to defend it's pack only to notice that it wasn't phasing him.

That's when it started studying closer, smelling the air around the trespassers and in a way, recognizing him as a brother. The alpha calms himself after a few moments and simply stares at Mikael, Elsa watching the scene in utter fascination.

The wolf starts growling calmly as he and Mikael watch each other before lowering it's head contently then turning towards his pack. The wolf emits a few short barks and the rest seemed to take a more passive stance, leaving the path they made for the alpha open so they could pass through without trouble.

"We should be fine, now." He says calmly before noticing the rather dumbfound look on her face. "Elsa...?" He asks calmly, kind of waving his hand in front of her eyes. It took her a minute to even acknowledge he was there; she was still trying to figure out what just happened and how he was able to "speak" to that wolf.

"Huh? Oh, okay." She says quickly, taking his hand and following him out of the den. "How..." She started quietly. "They just wanted us out of their territory, they didn't mean anymore harm to us than we did to them. My...mentor had a sort of...talent for communicating with wolves and, well, I tend to be a fast learner." He says with a light smile.

She nods contently. "His mentor must have been a ranger..." She says to herself, but he could still hear her and simply chose not to comment either way.

* * *

Talia and Anna were waiting on them at the gates with mischievous smirks on their faces. "Do you think he kissed her?" Anna giggles. "As long as it took for him just to smile, I'd sooner say she kissed him." Talia laughs lightly, making Anna laugh more.

"Maybe they're imagining what they're wedding will be like." Anna smiles real big at the thought. Talia almost falls into the fjord from laughing so hard. "Yeah, could you imagine how nervous they'd be if they got married?" She grinned.

"I know, it'd be so cute!" Anna squealed a little, almost swooning when she pictures the moment Elsa and Mikael on their "wedding day". "Hey, I think I see them." Talia says quickly, pulling a small spyglass from her boot and looking through it. "Yep, that's them." She kind of smirks. Anna trembled excitedly. "And..." She urged. Talia snickers mischievously.

"Awww, I see smiles..." She grins more. "Awww!" Anna looks outside the gates to see them walking up, arm in arm, their eyes not leaving each other and big smiles on their faces. "They look so adorable!" She squeals a bit, anxiously waiting for them to get to the gates so she could ask them how it went.

Elsa moves closer to him, lacing her fingers through his when she does and smiling gently. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" She says playfully, making him laugh a little. "Nah, could have been a lot worse. Thanks for talking me into it." He smirks a little.

"My pleasure." She giggles, leaning on his arm a little when she noticed Anna at the gates. "We're in trouble..." She says softly, catching his attention real quick before he follows her gaze, noticing Anna and Talia behind the walls.

"She likes to tease, huh?" He laughs a little bit. "Yeah and she's already seen us, so there's no telling what she'll come up with." She answers with a light laugh. "Play along..." He smirks a little when they approach the gates, making Elsa raise her eyebrow a little.

The gates open and they went inside, Talia stepping out of the shadows and walking up beside Anna with her arms crossed and a witty smirk on her face while Anna just keeps shaking from excitement.

"So, you two love birds have a nice walk?" Talia asks through a chuckle. "Well, I ain't in shackles, as far as I know, she ain't mad and I'm honestly a little surprised nobody sent a search party after she suddenly "disappeared"." He answers simply, making both Anna and Elsa giggle lightly before Talia motions to Anna. "She wouldn't let em; she didn't want anybody ruining your "date"." She teases a little, which makes Elsa blush madly.

"Well, I wouldn't really call it a date. It was more of a friendly walk." He smirks a little, Anna almost falling out on the ground from giggling so much. "Right, a date." Talia remarked, her smirk growing when she did. "Well, date, friendly walk, whatever you want to call it, I think we had fun and if she'd like to do it again sometime..." He looks towards Elsa, who was shyly hiding her face before timidly meeting his eyes.

"I'd love to..." She smiles sweetly. "Oh, you know they kissed..." Talia whispers to Anna teasingly, Anna almost squealing again when she heard that. "Oh, I know! They're even shier now than before." She squeaks, trying not to catch their attention to no success.

"So, you guys ready to eat?" Talia said sarcastically. "I'm ready if you are..." He smiles to Elsa. She nods shyly before they head inside.

Apparently, Anna, Talia and Kristoff had decided to wait until they got back before eating themselves and joined them in the dining room, Anna and Kristoff sitting next to each other as usual with Talia across from them and Elsa at the head of the table with Mikael at her side.

"They look happy." Kristoff smirks, almost making Anna burst out laughing. "Talia and I are pretty sure they kissed..." She said quietly, making him smirk more. "Really?" He chuckled quietly. "Looks like Elsa finally found her suitor, huh?" He kind of muttered, making Anna look towards them to see if they were doing anything, an anxious smile on her face.

So far, they didn't really do anything different other than looking up at each other every now and then and smiling cutely. What nobody else noticed, though, is that they were playing footsie under the table and he had managed to pull one of her shoes off, even sliding his own boot of so he wouldn't hurt her and now they were just tickling each other's feet.

"When do you think the wedding is?" Kristoff teases quietly, Anna desperately stifling laughter when she heard him so she wouldn't end up spitting food everywhere. Elsa would look over at them every now and then and kind of raise her eyebrow, but she had a pretty good idea what they were talking about and that on top of her and Mikael's game of footsie, she was almost blood red she was blushing so much.

She was starting to get used to it, though, ironically, trying as hard as she has to get Mikael to open up made her a little more comfortable with their teasing than she usually was. "So, how was it?" Talia smirks, making both Elsa and Mikael look towards her. "What?" She asks curiously, almost making her, Anna and Kristoff burst out laughing.

* * *

"Oh, come on, we all know you kissed! You've been acting like timid little puppies since you got back." She almost blurts out from stifling laughter, almost making Mikael choke on his drink and Elsa hide her face. He coughs for a little bit before popping himself in the chest and clearing his throat then sitting up straight again like nothing even happened.

"Just because we were acting like uh,"timid puppies" doesn't mean we kissed." He said calmly, him and Elsa trying so hard not to let them on that they did, even if it wasn't long. "Doesn't mean you didn't either." Talia smirks, making him raise his eyebrow a little before kind of nodding.

"True..." He smirked a little. "So, did you kiss?" She asks mischievously, making him blush a little. "I don't think I should answer that question." He says simply, Anna giggling when she saw his face.

"You don't have to..." Talia grins before taking a swig from her drink. He shakes his head a little and gently took her hand, noticing a shy smile on her face when he pulls it down.

"I think they're done for a minute." He says quietly with a light chuckle in his voice. She reluctantly lowers her other hand and locks eyes with him, her heart fluttering when she does. After a few minutes, everyone had finished eating and were fixing to try and find something to keep them occupied for a little while when Elsa noticed Cedric at the door.

"Um, I have something that needs your attention...all of you." He says simply, making everyone except Mikael give him a curious look. He could already smell it, they caught a werewolf, but it wasn't one he recognized. They just watch Cedric for a moment before reluctantly following him.

They arrive in the dungeons, Elsa almost shivering when she remembers being locked in one of the cells after Hans had captured her while Talia simply keeps her eyes forward and Mikael studies the doors and shackles.

"Thick iron doors and shackles, stone walls and barred windows...Arendelle must not have much of an underworld." He says to himself, kind of wondering how exactly they were holding this unknown werewolf unless they managed to catch them before they turned, which would still prove to be a dangerous design flaw should they decide to.

"What exactly is the problem?" Elsa calls to Cedric quickly. "We found a wolf; he said he wanted to speak with the royal family...his boss in particular." He answers, kind of looking towards Kristoff when he did. "And us?" Talia motions between herself and Mikael, who was still studying the dungeon, but still tuned in on the conversation in the hopes of finding out a little more about this rogue wolf.

"Precaution. The two of you seem to know more about this than any of us, so it'd probably a safer bet that you accompany them inside." He explains simply, Talia nodding her head contently. "How did you catch him?" Mikael asked out of nowhere, catching everyone's attention.

"He turned himself in..." Cedric says, turning his gaze back forward as they approached the cell. He unlocks the door then turns towards them. "Okay, he's probably going to seem a little eccentric, probably even outright insane, but I trust at least one of you will be able to figure out what's going on and put a stop to it if necessary. Just remember if he turns, those chains most likely won't hold him, so don't let your guard down" He explains simply before handing Talia her crossbow and throws Mikael his bow and arrows.

Talia went ahead and loaded a bolt in the crossbow then props it on her shoulder while Mikael simply drapes the quiver over his shoulder, followed by his bow. "We ready?" Elsa looks back at everyone when she approached the door.

Anna and Kristoff hesitated a minute before nodding as Talia and Mikael approach her, letting her know they were ready. She opens the door and they enter the cell one after another, save for Mikael who stuck close to Elsa in case the man had already turned, though Talia, Anna and Kristoff weren't far behind them.

* * *

The man looked up when they entered the cell, his eyes instantly moving to Elsa and Mikael, whose scent he instantly recognized as a werewolf, which made him tense up a little, especially considering his nature was noticeably different compared to the ones who turned him.

That's when he noticed Talia, who still had her crossbow propped on her shoulder and that made him even more tense, almost triggering the change until he noticed Anna and Kristoff, who looked a little shocked when they saw him. "Brom..." Kristoff says quietly, studying the man for a moment before his head dropped.

"I'm sorry, boss, your majesty. I thought I could hold it back if nothing else, but..." He stopped before burying his face in his hands. Elsa listens quietly before looking towards Mikael, who didn't really seem phased by the statement either way, but she could tell he was thinking hard on something. Kristoff shakes his head.

"You don't need to do that, this is kind of new to all of us." He said calmly, Brom quietly sniffling when he starts remembering the lives he's ended in his time as a werewolf. "I don't know if it's a dream or..." His voice shakes, urging Kristoff to look towards Talia then Mikael.

"If I can find the bite, it'd prove it, but I ain't sure if he really wants those chains off..." She said simply, a horrified look crossing Brom's face. "No, no! Don't let me loose, it might come back." He said in a frightened tone, which made Mikael approach him, his silver eyes meeting the frightened man's glassy hazel eyes.

He kneels down in front of the man and starts studying him quietly, taking note of everything that would confirm the ice harvester's fate without blowing his own cover. Brom watched him quietly, not really sure how to react to his behavior, but he felt a little relieved when he learned that Mikael was at least trying to protect Arendelle from the curse.

After a few minutes, he finally nods in confirmation. "He's infected. Probably two weeks now." He says simply, Brom's head dropping when he heard the statement.

Everyone studies the two quietly before Elsa walks up behind Mikael. "What do we do...?" She asked quietly, not wanting to really alert anybody else to what he told her about his clan turning into werewolves just yet.

"Well, obviously he doesn't want to be let go and this cell definitely ain't gonna hold him the next time he turns. If y'all can trust me alone in here, I wanna ask him a few questions then...he can decide his fate." He says simply, not really sure what else to say, but he had to know if it was really Robert and this was the only source he actually had at the moment.

She hesitated a minute, but figured out what he was doing then nods a little. "Maybe...we should wait outside." She suggests to the others, making them eye her curiously. "You sure about that?" Talia asks a little confused before looking towards Mikael, who was starting to stand up again, but didn't move from where he was.

"Personal, maybe?" She thought before reluctantly nodding and following her out, with Anna close behind. Kristoff, on the other hand approaches Mikael before tapping him on the shoulder.

"Is there a cure that you know of?" He asks quietly, Mikael regretfully shaking his head when he did. "If he asks me to end it, though, I'll make it quick." He said quietly before Kristoff nods contently.

"As long as he isn't suffering. Brom's a good man; he didn't deserve to suffer with that nightmare." He says simply before leaving the cell, closing the door behind him. When he heard the door latch, he turns back towards Brom and sits in a chair that was directly in front of him.

"Your name's Mikael, right?" Brom asks quickly, his eyes not leaving him. He nods a little before noticing his head drop again. "I know what you are..." He says quietly, Mikael simply taking a breath when he heard the statement. "Good instincts for a pup..." He said quietly, catching Brom's attention again.

"When did they turn you?" Brom asks hesitantly, making him frown a little. "Well, that's the thing, friend. If it wasn't for me..." He stopped before finishing the statement, almost making Brom go pale. "Why? Why give them that power?" He asks in shock, somehow keeping himself from just blurting the question out.

"I wasn't given much of a choice. You've met Robert; you know what he's like." He answers simply, a mortified look crossing Brom's face when he heard the name. "The white wolf?" He asked curiously, Mikael nodding in confirmation.

"That's him." He said, noticing him shiver afterwards. "Look, I don't care what you're really doing here or how long you really plan to stay, to be completely honest, I hope you and the queen do hit it off, but whatever you do, make sure that monster doesn't make it to Arendelle." He kind of ranted, but luckily, Mikael was used to talking to drunks and addicts and could understand everything he was saying.

"I plan to..." He says simply, making him calm down a little. "Were you bitten or did he make you an offer?" He asks curiously, Brom looking down again. "I didn't even know I was actually infected until now. I thought it was all a dream, the white wolf, the killing all of it. I can't...I can't endanger my family like this...there wouldn't happen to be..." He started before noticing Mikael shake his head.

"If there was, I probably would have used it a long time ago...the only true cure is decapitation, dismemberment, incineration or simply to learn control. Then there's still the risk of it taking you over." He explains calmly, Brom's head drooping more.

"I'm sorry; I know it ain't easy..." He says regretfully. Brom looks up and nods a little. "Does she know about...?" Mikael shakes his head again. "I can't..." He says simply, making Brom study him a little.

"Why not? I'm sure she'd understand if you explain yourself." He says in a curious tone, Mikael's head dropping when he does. "Let's just say this ain't the first time I've met her..." He said in a sad tone, Brom nods a little; he had a pretty good idea what he was saying.

"Do you have a map?" He asked, making him look up curiously. "Why?" He asked. "I'm not sure if they'll still be there, but I know where they set up camp. If nothing else, it'll be somewhere to start." He said simply. Mikael nods and pulls his map from a pocket in his cloak and rolls it out on the most solid surface he could find.

* * *

"Right there." Brom points the location of the encampment out on the map for him to mark. When he finished, he rolls the map back up and puts it away. "Thanks. This just might save a lot of lives." He says simply before Brom looks down again.

"Speaking of which, I need you to do something..." He said sadly. "Of course." Mikael says simply. "Tell my family I love them and...to remember me as I was..." He starts crying when he finished, making Mikael hang his head a little before pulling his dirk from under his cloak then standing, placing his hand on the man's shoulder.

"I'll be sure to pass it along...brother." He said the last part quietly before stabbing the man in the nape of his neck, severing his spine and resulting in a clean kill. He closed his eyes and hangs his head in respect as he pulls the dirk from the man's neck.

They studied the door quietly, waiting for Mikael to come out or let them know if they could come back in until Cedric heard a knock at the door. He opened it and Mikael walks out, cleaning the blood from his dirk before putting it away.

"He told me who the alpha was, where they last made camp then...asked me to tell his family he loves them..." He explains calmly, each of them hanging their heads in respect. "What do we need to do with the body?" Cedric asked curiously.

"Probably best to burn it just in case. We'll wait until morning, though, that way he can have a proper funeral." He says simply, the guard captain nodding afterwards and motioning for his men to retrieve the body. He walks towards them quietly, his mind racing after the conversation he just had, Brom's statement concerning his and Elsa's relationship pushing through the hardest.

"Would she understand if I told her? From what I can tell, she hasn't been having the best luck with werewolves." He thinks to himself before he felt her gently take his hand. "You okay?" She asks softly. He looks up and nods a little.

"Just have a lot to think about." He says quietly, her touch helping him relax a little despite his growing anger towards Robert urging him to change right here, hunt him down and just be done with it, but he didn't want to leave her, especially like that.

"Robert?" She asked quietly, noticing him nod in confirmation afterwards. "I'll scope the camp out tomorrow, if that's alright, but I wouldn't expect anything too promising." He says calmly. "Of course." She nods a little before Talia yawns and stretches a little.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think it's time to unwind for a little while." She said calmly. "Yeah, it's pretty late isn't it? Anna asks quickly before Elsa nods a little.

"Yeah. Well, we can go hang out in my room until we start falling asleep if you want to." She suggests calmly, everyone else except Mikael nodding in agreement. "Sounds good." Talia said simply as they start heading upstairs, Mikael staying behind them.

* * *

They were piled up in Elsa's room, Anna and Kristoff cuddling each other on the edge of her bed while Talia sits in a chair that was close to it, Elsa herself leans against the head of her bed with her eyes fixed on Mikael, who looked like he fell asleep in the window. Anna's curiosity was getting the best of her, she wanted so badly to know whether or not Mikael kissed her sister and she was kind of jittering at the thought.

"I can't take it, did you and Mikael kiss?" She asked quickly, Talia almost falling out of her chair from laughing so hard and Kristoff shaking his head a little. Elsa blushes when she remembers their walk and starts smiling shyly. "A little..." She said softly, Anna getting more excited when she heard her answer.

"How was it?" She asked curiously, her attention wrapped on Elsa. She smiled more, honestly she wasn't sure how to answer that, it wasn't a long kiss, true, but words couldn't describe how she felt the moment they did as there wasn't really anything that could touch it. "Awww, that good, huh?" Anna giggles, making her blush more before she simply nods.

"Well...?" Talia starts. "What?" She asks shyly. "Give us the details..." She requested eagerly, everyone's attention on Elsa. "It was just a little kiss on the lips, no big deal really." She said simply, Talia shaking her head unconvinced.

"Nuh, uh. You wouldn't be blushing like that if it wasn't a big deal. Talk." She teased, a mischievous smirk on her face. Elsa sighs a little, realizing they weren't going to let this go. "Well, we went to the north mountain, talked a little and then..." She smiles before she could finish, everyone, even Kristoff was anxiously waiting on her to finish her sentence.

"Well, come on, who kissed who?" Talia asked playfully. "We...met in the middle." She answers in cute, timid tone, Anna almost squealing when she heard her answer. "How long did it last?" Talia continues. "I don't know, a couple of seconds, I think." She says simply.

"Any tongue action?" Talia teases, making her blush more. "Not that I know of." She said shyly. "Not bad, not bad. You wanna do it again?" Talia smirked, but she didn't answer this time, other than looking over at Mikael, her smile growing when she does.

"I think that's a yes." Anna giggles before yawning. "Well, I think I'm gonna call it." She said sleepily before standing up, with Kristoff following suit. "Night guys." She smiles before leaving. "Night, Anna." Elsa said softly before looking back at Mikael, Talia laughing the whole time.

"Hey, quit being so nervous. We're just having a little fun." She smiles a little. "I know, it's just..." Elsa starts softly before her smile fades a bit. "You're trying not to get your hopes up only for him to leave, huh?" She asked simply, Elsa nods a little.

"Well, if he really wanted to leave so badly, I think he would have done it by now..." She says calmly, making Elsa look at her curiously. "What are you getting at?" She asks calmly. "I think he's gotten a little attached to Arendelle and could possibly be persuaded into staying." Talia hints with a smirk before stretching.

"Well, I think I'm gonna call it. G'night." She stands up and starts to leave. "Good night." Elsa said before turning her attention to Mikael, who was still fast asleep as far as she could tell. She giggles a bit then goes over to him, carrying an extra blanket with her.

He hadn't moved or made a sound, but he had been just awake enough to hear everything and it kept his mind racing until he felt her gently stroking the side of his head. "I don't know what you keep trying to run from, or how bad it is, but whatever it is, I'm willing to help you in any way I can. I want you to be happy, even if..." She hesitates a little before continuing.

"Even if it isn't here, but no matter what you decide to do, remember you'll always have a home here...and people who care about you." She says gently before draping the blanket over him then kissing his forehead before going to lay down, putting her candles out when she does.

He opens his eyes and looks back at her not long after she doses off and just studies her quietly, going over what she said, Brom's statement earlier and everything Talia had been saying about Elsa's feelings towards him and sighs a little.

"Everything happens for a reason, I guess..." He said to himself before closing his eyes and doing a sort of meditation that would keep him aware enough to fight the change should it try and hit him...

* * *

**Well, this one was a little longer than I wanted it to be, but I really wanted to wrap it up with that end part even if it dragged it out to**

**7,000 words, but honestly, I'm glad it didn't go that far. Either way, a little more of a peak into Mikael's past, a decent bit of tension,**

**some teasing, puppy dog moments and a little more cuteness at the end. (I can't believe I just wrote "cuteness". :P)**

**Well, enjoy, should have another soon and so on and so forth...**


	9. Chapter 9: An Old Friend

Mikael had left out early, not really being able to sleep after everything he had to think about and he figured an early morning hunting trip would be a good way to keep from thinking about it at least for a little while. Still, he felt bad for leaving without telling Elsa, especially with her being so worried that he'll just up and leave for good without so much as a goodbye or anything, but hopefully Kai would let her know where he went, he seemed pretty diligent with his duties.

"I ain't gonna interrupt her sleep just to let her know I'm going hunting, poor thing deals with enough bullshit already..." He said to himself as the sun started peeking over the horizon, messing with his eyesight a little before he got used to it again. He shook it off then picked up a scent, deer, a buck to be exact and he was close.

He grins contently then starts tracking it down, but he couldn't help feeling that something wasn't quite right. He follows the scent for about a half hour before coming across what used to be a camp, which reeked of blood, drugs, booze and ambition. He shakes his head a little when he scans the camp.

"They've sure as hell gotten messier since I left..." He said before rummaging through what was left of the tents. The place was a mess, but he hadn't ever seen the clan pick up and leave in such a big hurry that they'd leave their camp in shambles like this and in a way, it was just damn annoying, especially when it came to trying to find clues to where they were hiding or what they were up to.

That was definitely one of the bright sides to being a werewolf, though, finding clues was almost child's play for him and he had a treasure pile forming behind him the more he dug through the rubble, however he hadn't found anything that would lead him to Robert except his scent and he's been following that for a month now if not longer.

He found Robert's tent, which was barely standing and pulls it the rest of the way down before noticing a long, silver rod tumble down the hill. He drops the tent then goes to retrieve the rod, the silver burning the exposed parts of his fingers when he touched it and starts studying it.

It was a six foot staff decorated with carvings of an Asian depiction of dragons and snakes, Korean he presumed, but he'd have to double check before actually guessing. He nods a little, impressed by the craftsmanship of the weapon even if it was trying to burn his fingers off, he was used to that, but he wasn't quite sure what to do with it when he got back to Arendelle, it'd be a shame to sell such a one of a kind weapon.

He carries it up to the pile with the rest of the "treasure" and sticks it in the ground in front of it before returning to Robert's tent, digging through every little thing he found under it and simply separating simple junk from treasure from any potential clues before finding a small pendant in the shape of a crescent moon that was lined with small light blue gems that ended in a circle, which resembled half of a sun that was decorated with amber gems that were around the same size as the gems decorating the other half of the circle and had the symbols depicting the four elements in the middle, each decorated with their appropriate gems.

He looks down a little after studying it, taking a moment to remember his mentor then putting the pendant in his pocket. "Who knows, maybe Elsa will like it...besides, it's better off in her care." He thinks to himself before noticing a leather pouch that was big enough to hold maps and letters barely peeking out from under the back of the tent.

He tilts his head a little then goes over to pick it up, opening the flap when he does then reaching in to pull out a neatly folded map that looked like it was maybe thirteen years old. He sits down on a stump, laying the pouch next to him before unfolding the map, his eyes flashing gold when he learns that it was a map of Arendelle and everything around it. He nearly tore it to shreds before taking a deep breath and making himself relax as his eyes slowly fade back to silver.

"I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna fucking kill him..." He grumbles to himself before he heard a twig snap behind him, making him jump to his feet in a flash with his bow drawn and an arrow notched. His eyes lock on a tree to his right and he caught the scent of another werewolf, most likely one of his clan who was most likely sent to retrieve the map and the pouch.

He quietly starts strafing to his left, hiding behind every tree he found to keep from alerting them, his eyes not leaving the tree and searching for a clear shot. After a few moments, he noticed somebody's leg barely sticking out from behind the tree, their knee being the most vulnerable spot on it at the time.

He shrugs, it wasn't the shot he was hoping for, but it was a shot. He steps out from behind the tree long enough to release the arrow then disappears behind another, notching another arrow in the process. "OW, FUCK!" He heard someone shout when the leg goes limp, letting him know to put his bow away and draw his dirk, lunging towards the man with lightning speed and putting it at his throat before finding out who it was.

* * *

"Mercer?" He asked curiously, pulling the dirk back while the man cringes in pain. "What the fuck, man?! Thirteen years of whatever the hell you've been doing ain't done your paranoia any good has it?" Mercer scolded irritably, making Mikael shrug a little.

"Can't be too careful, especially dealing with Robert. Just be glad I didn't kill ya." He said simply. "But my fucking knee?!" Mercer yells, kind of making him smirk. "You put it out there and that was the clearest shot I had." He said bluntly, making Mercer shake his head irritably. "Fine, I'll give ya that one..." He grumbles before pulling the arrow out and handing it back to him.

"He got you too, huh?" He asks while he puts the arrow up, making Mercer roll his eyes and shake his head again. "Don't get me started on that shit, man. Asshole's been on a power trip ever since you and Selena ran off, turning the whole clan into werewolves no matter what it took to do it." He explains annoyed, making Mikael raise an eyebrow.

"So, he's been biting anybody that refused to accept his offer?" He asks curiously. "Hell no, he sends damn lackeys to do it. I don't know how the fuck he did it, but I'm pretty damn sure he's found a way to brainwash the entire clan and anybody else he "recruits", making them change and kill without them even knowing it." Mercer answers, making Mikael remember what Brom said about him not knowing for sure whether it was all a dream or not.

"An alpha has a strong mental link to any werewolves recruited into his bloodline, but it's stronger with any he's turned himself." He said quietly, making Mercer look at him. "So, how long do I have?" He asked. "Who turned you?" Mikael responds. "One of the newbies, about a month ago. Last night was my first actual change and I just woke up." He answers before noticing Mikael nod.

"You'll be fine as long as you can keep in control." He says, making Mercer let out a somewhat relieved breath. "So, why are you out here?" Mikael asked before Mercer gave him a kind of "You idiot" look.

"I need a fucking smoke and this is where I decided to do it! After the night I had, the past two months and getting shot in the fucking knee on top of that, I just might have to smoke myself into a damn coma if that's even possible. If it ain't, I'll just do it until I'm so damn stupid; I go watch grass grow for a few hours." He said sarcastically, eyeing Mikael for a minute. "What are YOU doing here, I thought you hated Arendelle?" He asks.

"Long story." Mikael answers simply, making Mercer raise his eyebrow before figuring it out. "You've got the hots for the Queen, don't ya? Haha, you dog." He chuckled, making Mikael shake his head a little. "Don't start..." He said kind of dully, which confused Mercer for a minute, but then he remembers the night Mikael went on his rampage after what happened to Selena.

"Wait, is she the little girl from...?" He starts. "Yeah..." Mikael answered dully. Mercer kind of frowns. "Does she...?" He starts again. "No..." Mikael interrupts, making him shake his head. "Why?" Mikael gives him the same look he got earlier. "You know what it's like, do you really think she'd forgive me for that, right mind or not?" He asks in a kind of irritated tone.

"Maybe?" Mercer says simply, making Mikael raise his eyebrow. "Look, man. Robert's been using me to spy on Arendelle while the blood settled. She's been through the same hell you have, even if it ain't spot on and from what I've seen, she ain't the type to condemn someone for an accident of any nature. Besides, the way she's been drooling over you, she'd probably let it slide." He laughs at the end.

"She hasn't been drooling over me..." Mikael says simply, making Mercer laugh more. "Dude, she looks at ya every chance she gets, blushes like somebody just snatched her clothes off in front of the entire world, not to mention she starts smiling like a fool and then tries to hide it, to hardly any success." He was laughing hysterically while he talked until his knee catches, making him grunt a little.

"Can't believe you shot me in the damn knee." He grumbled. "Better your knee then your head, right?" Mikael smirked. "Yeah..." Mercer grumbles before noticing a curious look in Mikael's eyes. "What?" He asked. "Got any of the leaf?" Mikael asks simply, making Mercer shake his head a little.

"You ain't changed a bit, asshole. Shoot a man in the knee then ask him for his herb." He grumbles sarcastically before reaching for a satchel then opening it. "How much ya want?" He asked, looking up at him. "What can ya spare?" Mikael asks before Mercer starts digging through the satchel, kind of muttering to himself until he pulls out a medium sized leather pouch with a distinguished bulge to it.

"This do ya for a while or you want more?" He asked simply, tossing Mikael the pouch. "Yeah, should get me through a few days." He said simply before pulling out a bag of coins and tossing it to Mercer. "Good deal, good deal." Mercer says simply, putting the coin purse in his satchel.

"And tell ya what, since I like ya, take this. It's a map of my dead drops in Arendelle, if ya need any more or ya want some info on Robert's movements, I check em daily." He says calmly, giving Mikael a map of the city with different locations marked on it.

"Thanks, man. I owe ya." He says calmly. "Damn right, brother. I like ya, but I'm still pissed at ya about my knee." Mercer grumbles, making Mikael rolls his eyes a little. "Oh, please. You're a werewolf now; it'll be good as new in five minutes tops." He said sarcastically, making Mercer shake his head a little. "If it ain't, I'm taking yours. Then you can grow a new one." He scowls sarcastically. Mikael shrugs a little. "Fair's fair, right?" He laughs, Mercer rolling his eyes a little before pulling out a simple wood pipe.

* * *

"Dick." He grumbled before loading the pipe, Mikael laughing the whole time. "So, whatcha think of her? She stuck up and snooty like the rest of the blue bloods?" Mercer asks sarcastically before striking a match and putting it to the pipe, breathing in the smoke that rushed through it while the leaf burns under the light flame.

"No. Actually, I think she represents everything a ruler should be. If she'd just take a little more time for herself to unwind and just say "fuck it". Don't get me wrong, she's fun to be around, but the snakes in her royal council put so much shit on her she can't figure out which way's up sometimes." He answers calmly, smoke billowing around Mercer's head the whole time he talks.

"Ah, those mother fuckers. You plan on dealing with em?" He asks, passing the pipe to Mikael when he does. "Not yet, I'd rather do it without killing them. Unless my back's against the wall or they make a move against Elsa or Anna." He answers before hitting the pipe then passing it to Mercer. "Anna...her sister, right?" He asked, Mikael raising his eyebrow a little.

"Don't give me that look, you know how much shit you can learn in two months." He slits his eyes a little before hitting the pipe, Mikael nodding a bit. "Tell me something, Mikael. How far would you go to protect her?" He asks while he tries to hold the smoke in and passes the pipe back to Mikael, who simply takes the pipe and quietly hits it, Mercer nodding contently with his friend's silence.

"Better left unsaid, huh? Works for me." He said calmly, taking the pipe when Mikael passed it back. "Well, I should probably get going before Robert sends his lapdogs to track me down." He says, offering Mikael another hit after both of them stand. "Sure, why not." He shrugs then hit it again before giving it back to him.

"Nice seeing ya again, man and thanks for the business." Mercer said calmly. "No problem. Watch your back, if Robert's managed to do that, he has better chances of controlling you the closer you are to him." He said calmly, Mercer shooting him a dull look. "Goody, it keeps getting better and better." He grumbles sarcastically, making Mikael chuckle.

"See ya next time, man." They grab each other's forearm and shake. "Sure thing." Mercer says before departing while Mikael returns to his hunt, but not before finding somewhere to stash everything he couldn't carry by himself and stuffing everything except the staff into his pack, tying a strip of leather to it and draping it over his shoulder.

He found the deer he was tracking earlier grazing about five miles from the camp. As expected, it was a young buck, maybe about a five, six pointer and looked pretty big for his age. He singles out his shot, pulls an arrow back and steps out from behind the tree to take him out until he heard something rustling in the brush about twenty feet from the deer, catching both of their attention.

The deer starts running off around the same time a bobcat leaps from the brush and chases him. The bobcat lets out a bone chilling shriek then lunges at the deer before simply falling to the ground, a black arrow sticking out of it's back.

The deer stops long enough to notice the fallen predator behind him, a mix of fear and curiosity in his eyes as they lock on Mikael. He locked eyes with the deer for a moment before he swiftly sprinting off. Mikael approached the bobcat while he drapes his bow over his shoulder and draws his dirk before pulling the arrow out of it's back.

It was clear the shot was fatal, but he never believed in wasting the spoils of a kill, otherwise it's simply murder. He skins the cat, collects anything that could be used or sold and stuffs it into his pack, making sure he didn't get blood on anything or at least not so much that it'd be a pain in the ass to clean up.

He stood up, pulls his bow again and sniffs the air in the hopes of picking up another scent. After a few minutes, he smells a boar that was maybe six miles east from where he was and even located a few more deer maybe ten miles to the west. He shrugs a little, sure the deer would probably be a more valuable kill, but there were just enough in that area that one would most likely be able to warn it's herd before he could take one out.

"If they're still there when I head back, I might try and bag a couple..." He said to himself before heading east towards the boar. He found the boar rooting through the dirt in a clearing and crouches down in a bush behind it, his eyes locking on to the most vulnerable spot he could find. He pulls the arrow back then took a breath to steady his aim before loosing it, sending it clean through the boar's side and making it nearly roar in pain before it turns to face him then charges.

* * *

He puts his bow down, pulls his dirk then steps out of the bushes before taking a wide stance like he was going to wrestle with it. The boar grew closer and closer before striking at him with it's tusks, almost hitting his left leg before he steps out of the way and slashes at it's front leg.

It squeals when the silver blade bites into it's leg then slashed him across the arm in retaliation before biting down on it and trying to rip it off. He grunts in pain before his blood starts boiling, his muscles stretch and his eyes flash gold. He digs his claws into the boar's head and rips them down it's neck to force it into letting go before slamming it against a nearby tree, paralyzing it so he could retrieve his dirk and cut it's throat to finish it off.

When it finally bleeds out, he ties it's legs up and drapes it over his shoulder while he retrieves his arrow and his arm starts stitching itself back together. "Those bastards always put up a fight..." He grumbled a little before sniffing again to make sure the deer hadn't moved. Luckily, they hadn't, but he wasn't about to waste time in case they decided to move on before he reached them. He finds them exactly where he expected to and studies the herd quietly, looking for any that were far enough away from the rest to avoid drawing attention when they fell.

After a minute, he finds two that were a decent ways from the herd and had a convenient enough distance between them so that when he took the first out, the second may not be alarmed as a result.

He notched another arrow, draws it back then releases it before notching a second and moving around to the other deer, pulling it back about time the first arrow hit it's mark, the first deer collapsing with a quick yelp when he releases the second, taking out the other right as he looked up. After they fell, the herd looked around to see their fallen companions then rush off into the forest before Mikael strolls out of the sticks, his dirk in hand.

He kneels down beside the first deer and pulls the arrow out of it's chest, bowing his head in respect before bleeding it out then moving on to the next one, bowing his head again then bleeding him. Now, with that done, he went back to his hiding place and pulls a hatchet from his pack before cutting down a few limbs then fastening them together to create a sort of basket so he'd be able to make it back to Arendelle with his kill without any trouble and who knows, maybe he'd go back to the camp and retrieve some of the things he dug out of the rubble.

It had obviously been hours since he left Arendelle, but it almost felt like it only took a few minutes to actually make it back and as far as he could tell, his absence hadn't stirred a ripple just how he liked it, the less attention, the better. First thing's first, though, he had to clean his catch, get what he could out of it and so on that way he could sell about half of it and either store the rest where ever the city's rations were held or just put it in the castle's storeroom.

He found a shack where he could work and parks the improvised basket outside before carrying everything inside then placing the boar and the deer on the table side by side. He took the sack full of treasure in a corner so nobody would get any ideas while he was busy. It didn't take long for him to clean and preserve the meat, but the pelts would probably take a couple of days and he'd have to find somewhere to work on them without stinking up the castle or the city in general, but still be able to keep a close eye on them.

"I'll worry about that later, that smell alone will draw the clan like moths to a campfire." He said simply before wrapping up the meat and hiding the pelts somewhere that the smell wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. He left the shack after cleaning up his mess and went to sell what he already had on him and half of the meat before somebody tackles him.

He instinctively knocks them off and rushes to his feet when he noticed Talia laying at his feet with Anna rushing up from his right. "Uh, sorry about that. Last time somebody did that it wasn't on the best terms..." He said simply while Talia gets up, laughing the whole time.

* * *

"Hey, no harm done. It's fun getting slung around every now and then." She said sarcastically when Anna finally reached them, obviously trying to hold back a mischievous grin. "Y'all are up to something..." He says calmly, raising his eyebrow while they try to act casual. "What makes you say that?" Talia asked, trying to sound like she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Ask her." He smirks before motioning to Anna, who was still trying to act normal. Talia laughs and shakes her head a little. "Anna, you really need to work on that." She chuckles, making Anna give her a kind of funny look. "What?" She asks confused. "Acting casual when we're trying to get a certain somebody ready for that festival." Talia answered in a quiet tone.

"Oh, sorry." Anna giggled a little bit before they turn back towards Mikael, who was just watching them quietly. "Ain't happening..." He said simply. "What?" Anna laughs, making him shake his head a little. "Y'all ain't gonna use me as a dress up or make up doll if that's what you're planning. It ain't happening." He smirks a little bit.

"Oh, come on, the festival's in two days and if you're going with Elsa, then you're going to need a little "royal treatment"." She pleads, giggling while she does and nearly making Talia double over from laughing so hard. "Something tells me "royal treatment" is your way of saying that you're trying to put me in a monkey suit." He laughed a little, making Anna give him a kind of pouty face.

"No! We're gonna make you look cute! We just need to see what exactly we're working with, though." She laughed, giving him puppy eyes while she does. "Tell ya what, if you can manage to make a blood soaked raider "cute" before this festival gets here, then I'll owe ya one hell of a favor." He chuckles.

"You don't think I can do it, do you?" Anna grins playfully. "I ain't saying that. I'm just making sure you know what you may be getting yourself into." He says sarcastically, Talia shaking her head a little. "He doesn't think we can do it." She laughs a little. Anna smirks before taking his hand and dragging him behind her with Talia close behind them.

"Well, let's prove him wrong!" She exclaims before he even knew what was going on. "Hey, wait! I gotta..." He started. "Do it later, this is more important!" She said quickly, making him shake his head again. "Why do I get the feeling Anna's gonna be the death of me...?" He said to himself when they pass through the gates to the castle.

* * *

He just sat back and watched Anna and Talia lay out different items used for "pampering" or whatever the hell they called it, which honestly made him a little uncomfortable considering some of the implements he saw reminded him of torture tools and the general idea of simply sitting in a chair while other individuals fiddle around with similar tools made him uneasy anyway, but he just ignored it.

"Does it really take all that shit to look presentable?" He asked sarcastically, raising his eyebrow a little when Anna giggles. "Well, not all of it, it depends on the occasion." She said calmly before turning back to the table where they were organizing their "toys" as he was gonna start calling them for the hell of it. He shakes his head a little after hearing her response. "I don't think I'm ever going to completely understand blue bloods." He kind of muttered to himself, catching Anna's attention again.

"Huh?" She asked curiously. "I didn't say nothing." He said simply. She didn't buy it, but she left it alone for the moment. "Okay, the cloak and the mask have gotta go." She said quickly, making him raise his eyebrow a little. "Not until you tell me what you're about to do." He said calmly, making her giggle a bit. "Relax; I just want to get a good look at you. That way, we can work from there." She says simply. He still hesitated, but reluctantly nods before lowering his mask and his hood then undoing his cloak and laying it on her bed.

"One more thing, don't you think somebody will find it, I don't know, odd that we're all piled up in your room?" He asked bluntly, making both of them laugh hysterically. "No, they're too busy to pay us any attention." She said reassuringly, making him look at her curiously. "Rumors about me and your sister sure popped up fast for nobody to be paying attention." He states wittily.

"Well, after that little show you put on in the middle of court yesterday, I think the council has learned to leave you and Elsa alone." She smirks a little before turning to face him. "Hair down." She said, making him raise his eyebrow a little. "Why?" He asks calmly.

"Convenience." She said simply. He shrugs then pulls the silver ring from his hair, the surprisingly shaggy mane dropping to his shoulders while he placed the ring on the table. Anna studies him for a minute and she could already tell this was going to be quite a job. She shook her head then leans toward Talia. "The poor thing looks like he just crawled out of a hole and trudged through the forest for...months maybe." She whispers simply, Talia nodding her head a little.

"I heard that." He gave them a kind of dull look. "I'm not trying to be mean, but did any of you ever bathe or clean up or anything?" She asked curiously, making him shake his head a little. "Yeah, we did. In lakes, rivers or whatever water was closest at the time. Kind of have to when you have somebody trying to take your head every time you enter a city." He said bluntly, slitting his eyes a little.

"Fair enough. You couldn't have at least brushed your hair every now and then?" She asked sarcastically. "With fish bones? I don't think anybody would have liked that very much." He answered wittily. "Your clan wasn't real fond of stealing anything like that, were they?" She asks simply.

"If it wasn't made of gold, silver, encrusted with jewels or some other alternative value on the black market, we burned it with anything else we couldn't make a profit off of." He answers, kind of making her frown.

"Still, you could have at least snagged a hair brush or something." She said quickly. "I've never had to worry about impressing anybody by my looks, so I didn't give two shits either way." He said simply. "Well, you at least have to be presentable at least for one night so neither of you will feel uncomfortable, because trust me, dignitaries can be kind of picky when they're visiting another..." He kind of rolls his eyes when she said that.

"Don't remind me, I've chewed several nobles out when they tried to down me because of my background or "unappealing" presentation and even made a few run out of their own palace, crying like a kid who just dropped their candy." He chuckled a bit, making them both start laughing again.

"Well, let's try not to do that at the festival, after what happened at Elsa's coronation, Arendelle could use the help." Anna says calmly. "Yeah, she told me about that. Trust me, though, Weselton, The Southern Isles, no real loss, chances are the clan's still raping their coffers and "disposing" of anybody that tries to rat them out." He said calmly, making her give him a curious look.

"Would they really do that?" She asks with a light frown. "If they're anything like they used to be, damn right they are. The monster who leads them would burn them both to the ground before letting them try and slip through his fingers." He answers, watching Anna's mouth drop afterwards. "How did you ever manage to leave?" She asks in a shocked, but quiet tone.

"I beat the bastard with a stick until he passed out from losing so much blood then hauled ass." He answers bluntly, trying not to smirk when he pictured it. Sure, what he told her wasn't completely accurate, but he sure as hell remembered kicking Robert's ass before he left and the jitters he got after he did.

In fact, the only thing that actually ruined it was the fact he almost killed Elsa that same night. Anna nodded a little bit. "Okay, then. Now, that we know never to get on your bad side, let's see what we can do with...the bitter hermit look." She says calmly while she picks up a hair brush...

* * *

**Yeah, kind of a weird, inconvenient way to end it, but I was expecting to use the last half to start the next chapter with until**

**I figured out it'd be easier to squeeze in than it looked and decided "what the hell.".**

**Either way, I'm gonna pick the next one up right where this one left off and maybe I can keep from dragging it out as much as I**

**did with these last two, but if I do, well, as long as it's still interesting, that's fine by me.**

**And trust me, I honestly don't know how long this is gonna end up being, but I'm gonna see if I can keep it going a little while**

**and will try to keep updates this consistent, but if I end up missing one, it won't be too far off schedule.**

**So, here it is, number 9. Enjoy, laugh, cry, curse, cough, puke, whatever, I'll see y'all next time.**

**Thank ya, thank ya very much...**


	10. Chapter 10: Royal Treatment

"Ow! Damn thing!" He snapped when Anna tries to pull the brush out of his hair again. "Sorry! I didn't think it'd be that bad! You really ought to brush it more often, it'd look a lot better for one thing and this wouldn't be so hard to do." She exclaims quickly before yanking on the brush again.

"Dammit, will ya quit yanking on it for a minute?! I prefer my head staying attached to me if ya don't mind!" He exclaimed when she pulled again before quickly dropping it, the handle slapping him in the side of the head and making him slit his eyes a little. "Yeah, it's stuck good." She said simply, shaking her head a little. "Ya think?" He said sarcastically, making her pop him in the back of the head.

"Don't get smart with me." She scolded, a light smirk on her face. He rolled his eyes like he was irritated, but he couldn't help laughing a little. "My bad." He grumbled sarcastically, Talia shaking her head the whole time. "Damn, this is entertaining. It's like you're already brother and sister." She laughed, Anna and Mikael giving her a funny look, making her laugh even harder.

"Hell, you bicker like you are anyway." She chuckles, making Anna giggle a bit while Mikael just shakes his head with an amused smirk on his face. "Hey, Elsa knows I didn't..." He starts before Anna met his eyes. "Kai told her that you left out early this morning and that you'd probably be back before the day's out." She says calmly, a light smile creeping across her lips when she heard him let out a relieved breath.

"Good." He said quietly before fiddling with the brush that was still tangled up in his hair. "This shit ever happen to you?" He looked between them after they burst out laughing. "More than you think." Anna said while she watches him wrestle with the brush.

"You son of a bitch, you're coming out today!" He kind of snarls when he yanks on the brush, nearly ripping his hair out when he does until it finally flies across the room, ricochets off the wall and flies towards the door, nearly hitting Kai in his forehead when he opened it.

He looked towards them with his eyebrow raised and looked like he was about to ask them about it before... "It's a long, complicated story..." Mikael says simply before noticing him nod his head.

"I'm...sorry for interrupting, but I was wanting to check and see if Princess Anna would be attending court today." Kai said simply, making Anna think about it for a minute. "I don't know, Mikael needs to be ready for the festival, but..." She said in a somewhat confused tone. Kai smiled a little.

"What a coincidence, we're actually discussing the festival." He says calmly, Anna smiling a little when he does. She still wasn't sure what to do, she hated being in a cramped room full of stuck up politics, but she wanted to be there for Elsa and of course, she wanted to make sure Mikael would be ready for the festival and that didn't give her much time to work on him.

"Well, considering the little hiccup we ran into, it might be a good idea to save your "royal treatment" thing for later." Mikael suggested calmly, making Anna look at him for a minute before nodding. "Good point." She said with a light giggle before an idea springs up in her head.

"This maybe a bit of a long shot, but can Mikael and Talia come with me?" She asks curiously, making Mikael raise his eyebrow a little. "Oh no she didn't..." He said to himself before Kai looks between them, a kind of mischievous smirk on his face.

"I don't see why not, the council sure loved having them there last time. And, I'm sure Queen Elsa would appreciate having two more friendly faces in court." Kai answers wittily, making Mikael snicker a little bit before Anna and Talia giggle to themselves. "Okay. Mikael, we'll meet you in the throne room. You at least try and brush your hair and get it straightened out then wash your face, no offense, but you look like you've been sleeping in dirt for months." She said quickly, almost making him burst out laughing with the last part.

"Oh the irony..." He thought before kind of rolling your eyes. "Sure, whatever." He laughed a little, making her slit her eyes at him a little. He smirks when he noticed the look she gave him and looks towards them.

"Well, run along. Don't wanna be late for your plays date, now do ya?" He says playfully, making all three of them laugh. "See you there." Anna says calmly before they leave the room, with Mikael heading to the room Elsa offered him the night they met to use the bathroom attached to it so he wouldn't mess Anna's room up. Any more than it was anyway.

* * *

He studied himself in the mirror, now realizing what Anna and Talia meant when they said "He needed work.", but then again, neither of them are werewolves, so they really had no idea how difficult "grooming" could get when you're living a sort of "double life" and tend to have some animalistic habits.

But, he said he'd do it and really, it could have been a lot worse. "That damn brush could have killed somebody." He said to himself, kind of laughing when he did. "That'd be a new one..." He shook his head before looking through whatever implements had been provided until he noticed a comb to his right.

He raised his eyebrow a little and picks up the comb before examining it like it was a gem or a piece of evidence. "Hmmm, maybe this'll do a better than that crazy thing Anna was trying to yank through my head." He thought before bringing the comb to the top of his head then pulling it through his hair, getting it stuck about halfway down and trying to pull it out again.

"You little bastard." He grumbled before yanking it through his hair, luckily it came out easier than the brush, but he was literally pulling his hair out of his head. He rolls his eyes irritably then chunks the comb back where he got it after pulling his hair out of it.

"You know what, I'm a fucking werewolf, I ain't gotta put up with this crazy shit." He keeps looking through the grooming tools until he found a pair of scissors and starts cutting his hair off as short as he could.

It took maybe twenty minutes for him to finish, his normally shoulder length hair was cut in a military style, which really didn't suit him as much as his having long hair did, but it was decent enough for the moment. "That just looks funny." He shakes his head before running some water then wrapping a bar of soap in a cloth and submerging it in the small basin.

He fiddled around with the cloth for a minute before taking it out then lightly wringing it out then cleaning his face as best he could. Surprisingly, this didn't take as long as cutting his hair did and he definitely looked cleaner than usual. The only thing that really bothered him was the fact that his more questionable scars were a lot more noticeable and he worried it might alert everyone to his nature.

He eyes the white scratches that clearly came from silver weapons that littered his face and even the ones on his chest, which didn't concern him as much, that'd be covered up, but what did irritate him were the somewhat smaller, dark red wounds that came from other werewolves.

Those were the ones that bothered him, there were a couple of bite marks that were pretty distinct in places people would probably be paying attention to and that would definitely arouse suspicions.

"Okay, let's see what we can do here..." He said calmly before digging around for anything that would help cover them up. Luckily, he found a left over thing of blush and he studied it for a moment, slitting his eyes a little when he does. "Well, if it works, use it." He shrugs then uses the powdery substance to blend the more exposed dark red scars in with his own complexion, smirking when he noticed how fast they seemed to disappear.

"Knowing how to use dirt and mud for camouflage has it's advantages." He snickers before looking in the mirror again, noticing that his hair was already down to the top of his ears. "Maybe it'll be done after I get a quick pick me up." He said calmly before reaching for the leather pouch tucked away in his armor and retrieving a small wooden pipe from his pack then leaning out a window, not wanting to get the smell in the castle.

He went back to the mirror after a few minutes and runs his fingers through his fresh new head of hair, which was once again it's proper length. "That'll do it." He said contently before going over to the bath tub. He turned the water on then takes some soap and lathers his hand up before leaning under the faucet, letting the water run through his hair before running his soapy hands through it.

He left the bathroom, kind of irritated by the fact he still smelled like a wet dog despite the fruity soap in his hair, but it has been a little while since he's had a thorough cleaning, especially when he's only been able to clean up in lakes and the like and...it tends to linger. Funny thing is, this is actually the first time he's actually paid it any attention.

He knew what it probably was, though, he was worried Elsa might notice it. "The shit people worry about when they trying to impress somebody." He rolls his eyes before thinking. "Still, she hasn't said anything about it before, maybe it's just subtle enough humans can't smell it." He said to himself before shaking his head and going through different colognes that were laid out on the dresser, his keen sense of smell allowing him to simply look at them and figure good from bad.

"Hmmm...too fruity, too ashy, not ashy enough, WHOO! What the hell is that?!" He said when he examines the cologne bottles until he noticed a small, light blue bottle at the end of the dresser. He picks the bottle up and examines it for a minute, noticing the crisp pine smell around it.

* * *

"Huh, interesting." He said while he carefully turns the bottle through his fingers. "Winter pine. That'll work." He said before spraying a little on him, his body twitching a little when the foreign substance hit his skin.

"Now, let's see, should I wear my armor, or would I be better off trying to find something more...appropriate?" He asked himself calmly, twiddling his thumbs curiously while he contemplates the thought. He pulled his pack closer to him and starts digging through it to see if he could find something that would be subtle, but stylish without being too flashy.

He looks through different coats and jackets he's collected over the years, not really sure which one he'd be better off wearing and the fact he's collected so many different styles he could probably open a clothing store just made it harder. "Son of a bitch." He grumbles before looking outside for a minute.

He looks back at the bed and raises his eyebrow curiously when he notices a black jacket barely poking out from under the others. "Hmm." He grabs the jacket and pulls it out to study it. It was a simple, but overall stylish duelist's jack decorated with silver buttons, short coat tails and burgundy shoulder caps.

"Not bad, ain't the best, but I think it'll do the trick." He says simply before laying it to the side then putting the others in his pack. He grabs the lack and slides his arms through the sleeves before buttoning it up before grabbing the silver ring he used to hold his hair in place and returning to the bathroom. He combs his hair, which was a lot easier since it was "new" then pulls it up into it's usual rogue knot before sliding the ring on to hold it in place.

"I would try to shave, but I'd probably have a full beard by the time I got to the throne room." He thinks to himself as he studies the light stubble on his face before shaking his head. "Eh, fuck it." He said simply before leaving the bathroom and making his way to the door leading out of the room.

He took the liberty of removing his weapons and putting them to the side before leaving so he could avoid any conflict with the guards, especially with his shady reputation. "I think whoever designed this place had a thing for colors." He said calmly as he studied the corridors before looking down and noticing the wood floors, raising an interested eyebrow.

"Huh, that's an interesting switch, they're usually stone." He said, nodding his head contently before looking back up, his stomach grumbling irritably afterwards. "Oh yeah, didn't catch breakfast." He said dully, slitting his eyes a little.

He rolls his eyes and heads back to his room to eat a piece of chocolate or two so his hunger wouldn't drive him nuts, especially being around so many people.

* * *

Anna and Talia decided not to tell Elsa that Mikael would be arriving shortly, thinking it'd be more entertaining to surprise her. "I can't wait to see the look on her face." Anna giggles quietly. "I know, right? It's gonna be awesome." Talia whispers, smirking the whole time before both of them turn their attention to the door, expecting him to come in any minute.

"Do you think he got another brush stuck in his hair?" Anna asks, almost making Talia burst out laughing in front of everybody. "Probably." She chuckles. "So, everything's in order?" Elsa asked calmly, the rest of the court nodding in agreement.

"Almost, your majesty. We...still need a theme." Kai answers. "Hmmm. Any ideas?" She asks curiously, making everyone in the room start thinking until they heard the door leading to the corridors open. Everyone's attention went to the door, Elsa's face lighting up when she noticed Mikael enter and study the crowded throne room.

"He cleans up pretty good." Anna says simply, Talia nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah, I was half expecting his hair to be gone or something." She laughed a little, Mikael smirking to himself when he heard the comment before locking eyes with Elsa, whose eyes were shimmering like stars when they met his while a surprised and inviting smile crosses her lips, which very much complemented the light blush on her cheeks.

"Weird, I never thought it'd feel this funny seeing somebody smile." He thinks when he started getting that "butterflies in your stomach" feeling again as he starts approaching the throne, the councilman from yesterday, William cutting him off before he got too close to the rest of the court.

"You're not supposed to be in here. Members of the royal court only, unless of course you have business with the court itself." He said in a rather cold voice, Elsa's smile fading when she saw him step out in front of Mikael.

The throne room fell silent as everyone's attention shot to Mikael and William while Mikael himself simply moves his eyes from Elsa to the "arrogant bastard" who had the stones to step in his path, the silver gems briefly flashing gold when they met William's.

"Is that so? Well, Princess Anna seems to think otherwise considering she personally asked for my presence here today on the off chance that a werewolf or two managed to infiltrate the court." He said simply, William giving him a cold glare.

"Isn't that what she's for?" He asked dully, motioning to Talia. Mikael simply nodded and smirks a little. "We agreed it would be a good idea to have an extra set of eyes." He states, William going silent after hearing his response before looking between him and Anna, who was trying not to giggle.

"Do I really need to teach you a lesson two days in a row?" Mikael asks sarcastically, William watching him for a minute before shaking his head then returning to his seat. "Didn't think so." He said quietly before turning his attention back to the throne. The crowd splits when Mikael starts moving towards them again, Elsa thinking about how the pack of wolves from last night did the same thing when the alpha showed up.

"Mind if I join you, your majesty?" He asks simply when he approached Elsa, making her smile again and motion him forward. "Of course, come on." She said warmly. He bows and goes to stand next to her, a light smile forming on his face when his eyes cut to Elsa.

She cut her eyes back to him and smiles a little more, almost forgetting that they were in the middle of court. "Elsa?" Anna calls to her playfully, snapping her out of her trance and making her blush again. "Sorry about that." Mikael mouthed to her, making her giggle quietly before nodding a bit then turning back to the court.

"Now, where were we?" She asks quickly, trying to divert everyone's attention from her little moment. "We were discussing a theme for the festival, your majesty." Kai reminds her in a kind tone.

"Oh, of course. So, what should we do this year?" She says calmly, the entire room falling silent as everyone tried to come up with ideas. "Masquerade ball?" Gerda suggested, catching everyone's attention. "Interesting." Elsa smiles a little.

"Personally, I'd like to know what your "friend" would suggest." William called out with a sneer, making everyone turn their attention to Mikael who was flicking a coin through his fingers.

* * *

"Who Mikael? Me Mikael? Nah." He said sarcastically then shook his head, still flicking the coin through his fingers while most of the court laughed at his response. "Come on, I'm sure you could think of something." Anna urged in an encouraging tone, making him laugh.

"Yeah, I could, but ain't none of it really appropriate for a "high class" party." He flicks the coin up in the air before catching it in his teeth then flicking it back in his hand with his tongue.

"Please?" She begs when he noticed everyone staring at him like they were begging him to do it, even Elsa was giving him puppy dog eyes. "Trust me, none of ya want to know, our parties could get so damn wild, you'd swear we were a bunch of animals." He says simply, but nobody seemed to acknowledge that.

"Just make a suggestion, if we don't like it, we'll let you know." Elsa told him in a gentle tone, a soft smile on her face when she does. He shrugged. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn ya, though." He said calmly before thinking for a minute. "How did you celebrate autumn when you were...?" She started softly before he meets her eyes.

"Usually getting drunk and throwing pumpkins at each other until one of us was still standing. Then they'd usually pass out." He said calmly while Elsa, Anna and Talia try to stifle giggling in case he got offended by it. "Go on, laugh. I did." He smirks when he noticed. Elsa took a breath and looks back at him.

"Well, I don't think nobles would appreciate someone throwing pumpkins at them, but we'll keep it in mind." She said through a light giggle, which made him smile a little more. "Why pumpkins?" Gerda asks in a confused tone.

"Long story short, you take a band of drunk, bored brigands who just got threw raiding a caravan that just so happened to have a pumpkin cart and put them together, you never know what's gonna happen." He says simply, making everyone around him start laughing again.

"So, you decided to throw them at each other?" Anna asked before noticing Mikael shake his head a little. "Not all of them, I shot a few out of a cannon and knocked some guys out real quick." He laughed mischievously, making Elsa raise her eyebrow a little, but she was still smiling.

"How are you even still standing right now?" She asked quietly, which made his smile fade just a little, but nobody noticed it. "Dumb, blind luck, I think." He answered. She watched him for a moment, something about the way he acted telling her that he didn't like talking about whatever he had to do to survive living among the clan, but she just couldn't figure out why.

She was about to ask him something else when the doors open again, drawing everyone's attention to it. "Your majesty." Cedric bows respectfully before approaching the throne. "What's wrong?" She asks concerned, Mikael moving a little closer to her in case somebody tried to jump her.

"Um, nothing. I just wanted to let you know your uncle and cousin from Corona have arrived." Cedric answered simply before noticing Mikael at her side, who was slowly returning to a more passive stance.

"Hmmm. If they don't end up getting married, I might have to talk to him about joining the royal guard." He thought to himself before turning his attention back to Elsa, who had a much more content look on her face. "Great! Send them in." She said calmly, Cedric bowing respectfully before going to retrieve them. Mikael relaxed a bit, but he wasn't quite sure if he should stay or not.

Chances were, he probably had a bad relationship with the king of Corona and considering he's apparently Elsa and Anna's uncle, he'd most likely point whatever relationship that was and talk her into throwing him in the dungeons and there was almost nothing worse than a pissed off, hungry werewolf being locked in a cage.

He discreetly looks for a spot where he'd be able to slip away from the court if he needed to until he felt Elsa gently grab his hand which made him look back at her to see a comforting look on her face. "Relax. They're nice." She says gently, her touch and the sound of her voice soothing his nerves.

"Sit down, it might help." She suggests quietly, motioning for Kai to bring him a chair while she tries to help him calm down. After a few seconds, Kai returned with the chair and offers it to Mikael.

"Thanks." He said simply before reluctantly sitting down, kind of annoyed by the fact it would be a little more difficult to keep an eye on things from the chair, but his hearing, smell and so on would compensate for the otherwise minor "handicap".

* * *

After a few minutes, the doors open again and Mikael looked up to see a man with black hair that had touches of grey in it and a relatively thick beard, the man himself looked to be in his forties or fifties and was wearing a medium blue suit.

He was accompanied by a young woman with short brown hair that looked like she was maybe around twenty and wearing a light pink dress whose arm was locked with a younger man who had maybe dark brown hair with a light goatee and looked like he was maybe in his late twenties or early thirties.

He raised his eyebrow when he noticed the younger man. "Wait, I know that lout..." He said to himself as he studied the group. They stop in front of them and bow respectfully, Elsa smiling and motioning for them to stand afterwards, though the younger man frowned a little when he saw Mikael.

"Ah, that is you, ain't it?" He thought to himself, trying not to burst out laughing when he saw his expression. "Good to see you again." The older man said kindly, Elsa and Anna smiling when he does.

"Good to see you too." Elsa said softly when he and the young woman turn their attention to Mikael, a smile crossing the young woman's face. "Who's this?" She asks curiously, a rather inviting tone to her voice. "This is Mikael. He's helping us deal with a little...problem." Elsa answers softly, not really wanting to tell them about the werewolves just yet.

The younger man raised an eyebrow then approached him. "Mikael...Robert's enforcer?" He asked curiously, everyone, especially Elsa studying him curiously when he mentioned Robert. "Used to be." Mikael said simply, confusing the young man a little.

"Since..." He started curiously, his eyes not leaving him. "I'd rather not get into that right now. Let's just say we had a little difference in opinion and I left." Mikael said before the young man nodded a little, not really sure what else to say. "You've met?" The young woman asks curiously.

"Back when I was still...you know, I was trying to get out of the city and he made it happen." He answered calmly, Mikael pointing at him with a kind of "ah-ha!" look on his face. "Oh yeah, Flynn, right?" He asks curiously, almost making him tense up.

"Yeah..." Flynn answered somewhat dully. "Nice to see ya made it out in one piece. And married to a princess? Not bad, not bad." Mikael chuckles a bit and shakes his head. "Gotta say, I didn't see that coming." He said simply, the young woman studying them curiously. "Did...something happen between you two?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, nothing major. Unless you wanna count the time he tried to get out of paying me after I got him out of there." He shrugs, making Flynn's head drop. "I told you I'd pay you as soon as I could, I just...ran into a lot of trouble before I could." He explained reluctantly, an almost terrified look on his face, which almost made Mikael fall out of his chair laughing.

"Kid, if I was really worried about pocket change, don't you think I would have collected it by now?" He asked sarcastically, everyone studying him curiously, especially after they heard him say "kid.". "Well, I would have thought Robert would have sent you after me." Flynn answered, making Mikael shake his head a little.

"Let's be honest here, man. That little smuggling ring, that was my game, my money. Robert didn't know a damn thing about it and if he ever went near that piece of business, he ended up in a coma for about a week. Trust me, I was making a fortune off of poor bastards like you every hour, one person refuses to pay out of maybe a few hundred thousand or more a day, ain't no skin off my nose." He explains with a light smirk, Flynn still watching him cautiously.

"You're off the hook, Ryder. If I cared anything about that money, we wouldn't be talking right now." He states simply. "Now, that we've got that out of the way..." He leans back before turning his attention to the other guests.

"I'm princess Rapunzel of Corona. Elsa and Anna are my cousins." The young woman curtsies, Mikael nods his head respectfully. "King Harknir of Corona." The king introduced himself respectfully, Mikael bowing his head a little. "Nice to meet ya." He said simply when he noticed Rapunzel leaning close to Elsa's ear.

"Are you and him...together?" She whispered in a happy tone, making him and Elsa blush madly. "Yeah, they're definitely related." He thought to himself when he noticed Harknir and Flynn chuckling at their reaction. Elsa smiled softly and looks to him.

"Not yet. I'm...not sure if he wants to stay in Arendelle or not." She says softly, Rapunzel's mouth dropping when she heard her answer before she turned her attention to Mikael. "Why wouldn't you stay?" She asked, sounding a little hurt when she does. Mikael frowns, he wanted so badly to tell the truth, to tell Elsa about his true nature, the near death experience he delivered to her, everything, but he couldn't.

Everyone could tell that something was bothering him, though and that whatever it was; it was killing him just trying to hold it back. "It's complicated..." He answers a little dully, not really meeting anyone's eyes when he does. She was about to ask something else, but Elsa shakes her head a little, suggesting that it'd be best to leave it alone. Rapunzel nods reluctantly before she and the others take their seats, Mikael simply looking straight ahead until he felt Elsa's fingers comfortably lace around his hand again...

* * *

**Hell of a way to end a chapter, huh? I ain't gonna lie, this one didn't turn out like I expected it to, but I think it's at least a little**

**decent considering I was wrestling with writer's block the whole time I was writing it.**

**I was hoping to include Rapunzel and Flynn in a later chapter, but I figured it'd be interesting to have them arrive early**

**so I wouldn't try to cram a lot of arrivals into one chapter (Because something big's gonna happen during the party.) and considering**

**she's supposed to be Elsa and Anna's cousin; it just made sense if you ask me.**

**So, anyway, here's Damn, number 10? I'll try to have another up a little quicker and see ya next time...**


	11. Chapter 11: Frozen Heart,Burning Blood

Elsa was heading to her room with varying documents and letters piled in her arms and her mind racing. She was still trying to get everything for the festival in order before the rest of the nobles arrived, how much she'd have to increase security with the werewolves on her doorstep and worrying about Mikael on top of that.

She knew he still had something eating away at him, he could hide it all he wanted to, but she could see it better than anyone. "At least he's getting along with Rapunzel and uncle Harknir so far." She said contently, laughing when she remembered the conversation he had with Flynn.

"I wish he'd just tell me what's wrong. It can't be that bad..." She frowns a little before she heard something. What she could actually tell from where she was, it sounded like music, a lute to be exact and it sounded like it was coming from where her room was.

"Hmm." She raised her eyebrow curiously and kept walking, thinking she'd find out what it was when she made it to her room. The closer she got, the louder the music was, it was clearly a more subtle tune with a slow to medium pace and something about it just made her relax, almost to the point of falling asleep where she was.

It wasn't long before she suddenly stops, the alluring tune echoing through her ears when she turns to find herself in front of Mikael's room, which was apparently the source of the music. She raises her eyebrow curiously then carefully cracks the door to peek inside, almost dropping everything when she does.

She could see Mikael's shadow on the edge of the bed, a simple, but elegantly made lute in his hands and his fingers dancing across it like it was simply second nature to him. A gentle smile creeps across her lips as she listened to him play, the rest of the world almost vanishing around them while the song hypnotizes her, making her forget she was still carrying a pile of documents before simply dropping them.

"Sh..." She slammed the door, the sudden crash and the door slamming making him miss a note and quickly turn around. He raised his eyebrow curiously before laying the lute to the side then approaching the door, quietly opening it to see Elsa on her hands and knees frantically collecting documents.

He tilted his head a little then gets down on the floor with her, quickly snatching up any she may have missed. She kept gathering the documents, not even aware that he was there until she suddenly grabs his hand, their eyes meeting in the middle when she does and both of them blushing madly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." She started nervously until he gently laced his fingers around her hand. "Nah, it's fine." He smiles a little before they look back down at the mess. "Let's make this a little easier. I'll be right back." He says calmly before returning to his room. After a few moments, he comes out with a blanket and lays it out before piling the documents up in it.

She watched him for a minute before getting back on the floor and helping him. "You're just now going to bed?" He asked a little surprised, which made her frown a little and nod her head. "Yeah, I'm used to it, though. I'm actually surprised I'm actually calling it this early." She said softly, almost sounding like she'd fall asleep right there.

"Damn, you're as bad as I am." He shakes his head a little, making her look at him. "I don't have night terrors, though. I just have too much to do." She said with a light yawn. He watched her for a minute, not missing a beat as he tossed papers into the blanket.

"They really put that much on you, huh?" He asked softly, obvious concern in his tone. She didn't answer; not really wanting to get him riled up this late at night, but still nods a little bit. "That ain't fair; the council should at least try and help you with maybe half of this." He said simply before she met his gaze.

"Most of them do, it's just the few like William that neglect to. Besides, there's still matters that the council aren't permitted to deal with." She said softly, watching his head drop a little. "Poor thing, no wonder she looks so exhausted all the time..." He thinks to himself before meeting her gaze again.

"Well, I'll help ya with this mess. If you'll let me." He said calmly, her face brightening up a little when she heard his offer, but she still had a bit of hesitation in her eyes. "I couldn't ask you to do that, you're a guest." She says gently, watching him shake his head.

"So? That doesn't mean I can't help a friend when she needs it." He says, a light smile crossing her face as they finish picking up the documents. "Thanks. You don't have to, though." She said shyly, stroking a lock of hair behind her ear as she stands.

* * *

"Just like I didn't have to run that thug out of Oaken's and buy your sister a box of chocolate." He smirks before tying the blanket up into a sack and draping it over his shoulder, which made her smile grow more.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" She asks with an enthused voice, making him blush a little. "I found it on a raid, took it then just started playing with it until I started hearing music." He answers simply, grasping her attention even more. "You taught yourself? Bravo." She says sweetly, making him shake his head a little.

"It was either learn to play music or burn the camp to the ground. At the time, I wasn't really in the mood to exterminate my clan." He says calmly, making her frown a little. "I wish you'd quit being so hard on yourself, you're nowhere near as bad as you say you are." She says softly.

"You really think so, huh? Even after learning about the things I've done?" He asks calmly before Elsa takes his hand. "Well, I haven't seen that side of you come out yet, so that tells me you're a good person." She smiles a little, his heart dropping when he heard the statement.

"Yes you have. You just don't recognize me." He thinks before looking in her eyes, the icy blue gems steadily trying to figure out what's really bothering him. "What's really bothering you?" She whispers gently, her chilly breath tickling his skin and making him tremble a bit. "I can't tell you...I wish I could, but I can't. Arendelle would be in even more danger if I did..." He says quietly, making her raise her eyebrow a little.

"What could he be hiding that would put us in worse danger?" She asked herself until they reach her room, Mikael quietly opening the door for her when they do. "Thank you." She smiles softly. "No problem." He said with a light smile before hesitantly following her inside.

"Wow, clean." He said calmly when he walked in, making Elsa laugh when he does. "Hey, just because I'm busy all the time doesn't mean I don't take time to clean my room." She said wittily before looking up at him.

"Well, come on. Make yourself at home." She smiles warmly and motions him to a table with two chairs at the back of it. He nods a little then sat in the chair closest to the end, dropping the sack of documents beside him looking up when Elsa disappears behind a blind to change into her night gown.

He raised his eyebrow a little, his curiosity almost possessing him and making him want to peek behind it, but he was trying to talk himself out of it. "She seems pretty comfortable around me, though...besides, why would she change with me in here unless..." He shakes his head like a bug got stuck in his ear in an attempt to get the thought out of his head and looks out the window.

Before he knew it, his mind went back to her and he started discreetly peeking around the blind, managing to catch a brief glance at her when she slides her arm through one of the sleeves of her night gown until...

"Nuh uh. Still disrespectful." He shakes his head then turns his attention to the door as he pulls out a coin and starts flicking it in the air, catching it before it hits the floor. She came out from behind the blind and watched him flip the coin through the air from one hand to another, his attention locked on the door.

A light blush decorates her cheeks while a mischievous smile crosses her lips before she quietly walks up behind him, gently running her hand across his shoulders when she gets to him. He trembled a bit when he felt her touch, but it didn't bother him, he had gotten so used to her now that it was almost strange when she wasn't around.

"See something you like?" She asks playfully, making him blush a little. "Maybe..." He answers simply while she sits down next to him, her fingers stroking down his arm when she does and making him tremble more. He starts shyly studying her until he felt her slowly pulling him and the chair closer to him, lacing her arms around him as she did.

His body shuttered when it pressed against hers and he embraced her comfortably, carefully caressing her back when he does. She smiles cutely then rests her head on his shoulder when she felt his fingertips stroking across her somewhat exposed shoulder and probably would have drifted off right there if she didn't remember they had work to do.

"Um, Mikael...we need to..." She says sleepily. "Yeah. What can wait?" He asks calmly, feeling her shrug lightly in his arms. "Well, I don't know, I haven't been through any of it yet." She said simply, her body slowly going limp as she started drifting off again.

"Still pre-occupied with the festival?" He asked softly before she nods a little. "I never thought it'd be this hard to come up with a theme for a party." She sighs a little. Mikael thinks for a minute, he sure as hell knew how to party, but his problem was he had to come up with something that wouldn't be considered "unsavory".

* * *

"Hmmm. Moon's full tomorrow night, ain't it?" He asks curiously, making her raise an eyebrow. "I think so, why?" She asks calmly. "What's the biggest fire Arendelle's put together?" He smirks lightly. "I don't know." She says softly, making him smirk a little more.

"How bold would it be for me to suggest maybe having a bon fire under the full moon? Drinks, dancing, you know, everything that makes a party a party?" He asked wittily, a light smile crossing her face. She wasn't too fond of fire, but she liked the idea and of course, if it started bothering her too much she could always come inside.

"I think we can do that." She says sweetly before meeting his eyes, neither of them letting the other go when he felt her hand carefully reach behind his head and coax him forward. They tremble shyly as their lips grew closer together then barely meeting before they hear a tap on the window. Their eyes shot towards the window.

"What was that?" She asks softly, Mikael rolling his eyes a little when he picked up a familiar scent. "I have a pretty good idea..." He grumbles a little before reluctantly letting her go and opening her curtains, Mercer trying to peek in with a black leather bound book in his hand.

"Dammit Mercer..." He says under his breath before cracking the window. "I need to talk to ya. Now." Mercer says urgently, noticing the irritated look in his eyes. "What?" He asks quickly, Elsa studying them quietly before Mercer tries to look around Mikael.

"Can I come in, I ain't quite got used to the blood and all these different smells are driving me fucking nuts." He states somewhat irritably before Mikael turns towards Elsa, a curious look on his face. "Is he friendly?" She mouthed to him before he noticed him hesitantly nod.

It wasn't really convincing, but she nods to let him know Mercer could come in. He turns back towards his friend then opens the window enough for him to slide in. "Fine, just don't make a mess." He says bluntly as Mercer slid in through the window.

"Easy 'nuff." He says simply before laying the book on the table and sitting across from Elsa, who was studying him nervously. "Queen Elsa, Mercer. Mercer, Queen Elsa." Mikael says casually as he takes his seat next to Elsa, hoping to ease the sudden tension a little.

"Your majesty." Mercer bows his head a little as Elsa tries to manage a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you." She says nervously, noticing a golden shimmer in the man's eyes. "Mikael... is he...?" She started quietly before Mercer interrupts.

"A werewolf? Yeah, don't remind me. Bastard sent one to bite me since I wouldn't take part in his little "initiation" then I wake up this morning buck ass naked and smelling like blood, well more than usual anyway. It ain't nothing nice, I can tell ya that much, but I think some people can handle it better than others. And don't get me started on the actual change, that shit's so fucking painful it makes you wanna..." He ranted somewhat irritably until...

"Mercer!" Mikael snapped quickly, catching their attention.

"Right, sorry. The mother fucker's gone so far off the deep end it ain't even funny." He said quickly, sliding Mikael the book. "Page two hundred ninety six." He says, making Mikael raise his eyebrow before opening the book, recognizing the drawings in it.

"Wait, where did you get this?" He asked quickly. "Robert found it after Selena died. Then I took the liberty of "borrowing" it." Mercer answers bluntly, Elsa looking between them. "Who's Selena?" She asks curiously, noticing Mikael tense up a little when she did.

"Mikael's mentor, probably the closest thing he had to a parent if you want a more specific answer." Mercer answered calmly, Elsa's gaze moving to Mikael who simply flipped through pages to find the one Mercer mentioned. "What happened to her?" She asks hesitantly, making him briefly cut his eyes to her, but he didn't answer.

"Robert. When he left, she left. Then Robert tracked them down and..." Mercer explained, stopping at the end so he wouldn't piss Mikael off. Tears started forming in Elsa's eyes when he told her, her gaze not leaving Mikael as she slowly moves her hand towards his. "How old were you...?" She asked quietly, his tormented eyes briefly meeting hers when she asks.

* * *

"I was eight..." He answers quietly before turning his attention back to the book, her fingers lacing around his hand when he told her. Mercer watched them quietly, shaking his head a little. "Never thought I'd see that firebrand of a werewolf could actually look this vulnerable." He thinks to himself until they heard Mikael's knuckles on his free hand crackle when he found what he was looking for.

"Mercer...what the fuck is he up to." He demanded with a light snarl, his at the moment cold gaze locking on his old friend. "You tell me, she didn't trust anybody else with shit like this." Mercer said simply, making him shake his head irritably. "I should have torn him to pieces when I had the fucking chance..." He grumbled quietly, Elsa barely able to make out what he said, but judging by the way Mercer was eyeing him, it couldn't have been good.

"What's wrong?" She asks carefully, not wanting to provoke him anymore than he already was. "He's going to invoke a wild hunt so he can take over Arendelle." He answers with a light snarl, making a terrified look cross her face. "How do you..." She started before he turns the book towards her, showing her a drawing of a blood red moon and numerous wolf like shadows beneath it.

"The blood moon. It's the time when the power of a werewolf reaches it's peak, but at the same time, their hunger grows to a point where it's almost completely insatiable." He explains, Mercer pulling his pipe out as he does and was about to light it until he felt their eyes on him.

"Oh, no smoking in the castle? My bad." He said calmly before putting it away. She looks back at Mikael with a concerned look in her eyes. "What does that have to do with this "hunt"?" She asks, pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"There's also a higher chance of humans being turned if their attacked during a blood moon. He's been raising an army, sending enforcers to bite anybody that wouldn't accept his offer willingly in preparation for it. As many wolves as he's gathered since he discovered the power, he could kill everyone here and the survivors would turn instantly. He'd have his own kingdom like he always wanted." He answers, making her almost freeze the entire room when he does.

"How long do we have?" She squeaks a little.

He stood up and went to the window, looking up at the moon, which was obviously full, but something was different about tonight compared to any other full moon.

The moment he looked up, he felt his blood festering in a much different way than usual, the call was stronger and the urge to hunt was steadily growing to the point where he probably would have been forced to change right there if he wasn't so focused on protecting Elsa from himself and Robert. "Not long..." He said quietly before rejoining them.

"Day after tomorrow if we're lucky." He answers, making her eyes drop. "The festival's tomorrow..." She says quietly before he carefully took her hand. "Which would probably give Robert a good excuse to do some last minute recruiting..." Mercer grumbles quietly as he looks between them.

"Hey, if it helps ya feel any better, you couldn't ask for anybody better to fight him off." He says, motioning to Mikael. "Ain't been anybody that's left the clan and lived to talk about it." He explains simply, her eyes looking up at Mikael who was still looking down.

"Yeah, and you see what price I had to pay the first time..." He grumbled a little until she gently embraces him, trying to help him feel better. "Yeah, I do. But, apparently you gained something else along the way..." Mercer said bluntly, his eyes cutting to Elsa when he did.

"Well, I think I'm gonna leave you two love birds to your business before Robert tries to track me down and kills everybody here. Y'all have a good night." He said before standing up and going towards the window. "Thank you for..." Elsa starts before he raised his hand.

"Thank Mikael; he's the one who told me to find out Robert's plan. My new instincts just took care of the rest." He said bluntly before leaping out the window and disappearing. She studies Mikael for a minute after hearing that, noticing him stare at that one page in his mentor's book before slowly closing it.

"I better call it too so you can get some rest." He said softly before standing up only for her to grasp his hand tightly and stop him in his tracks. "Please don't..." She said with a gentle whisper, giving him her best puppy dog eyes when he turned to face her. "I don't wanna get you in any trouble..." He said quietly before noticing her shake her head.

* * *

"They're going to talk about us anyway and besides, you're not going to get me in trouble. Most of the council likes you, they've told me. It's just William and the others like him that aren't fond of you, everyone else thinks..." She stops at the end, not really sure how he'd react to hearing the last part. He didn't say anything, but he already knew what she was referring to and his mind starts racing.

"Has the rest of the council really talked to her about that?" He asked himself, a little stunned by the possibility, as much as he'd love to do it, he couldn't help but wonder if they'd have the same response when they learned he was an animal or if Elsa would still care about him as much as she does when she found out.

"Okay, if you insist." He said calmly, her face lighting up when he did before she hugs him tightly and making him grunt a little before hugging her back. "We'll...worry with that mess tomorrow if you still wanna help." She says with a light, sleepy giggle as she motioned to the improvised sack.

"Of course. You deserve some Elsa-time, I just hate it ain't more." He smiles a little, making her giggle lightly before she carefully pulls him to her bed. He hesitated a little when she did, which made her study him curiously. "Are you sure you're...okay with..." He tried to ask until he felt her slowly coaxing him to sit on the edge of the bed then lovingly snuggle up to him.

"I wouldn't ask you to if I wasn't." She whispers gently, making him shutter a little as he tried to block out certain "pesky" thoughts that he knew would ruin his chances with her. "You're nervous..." She says softly as he pulls his boots off.

"I've...never really let anybody get this close to me before I met you, much less..." He said quietly hesitating at the end until he felt his body slowly sinking down to the bed with her on top of him before their lips meet for a moment then parting again. "It's not like we're about to do anything like that. It's a little too soon to think about it if you ask me." She says in a soothing tone, hoping to calm his nerves a little.

"But, I trust you enough to let you sleep in here with me. I feel like I can relax around you and honestly, I feel like I've actually been able to rest knowing you're around." She continued, her voice drifting a little as she lays her head on his chest and starts listening to his heartbeat.

He carefully wrapped his arms around her and starts gently caressing her back, making her sigh cutely when he did. "I don't even trust myself that much..." He said under his breath as she started going limp in his arms before her eyes stare deep into his.

"That thing you can't tell me without putting Arendelle in danger...exactly how bad is it?" She asks softly, noticing a familiar tortured look in his eye, the same one he had when she met him. "You wouldn't trust me as much as you do now, I'd wager..." He answers dully, making her curiosity grow.

"Will it help us deal with Robert?" She continues gently. "Possibly..." He said. "Then why keep it a secret?" Her voice starts drifting again when she asked as her eyes start drooping sleepily, but she still noticed his drop.

"I think you already know why..." He said quietly, making her remember how Brom acted before Mikael asked to talk to him alone. That's when she started noticing the pattern, Mercer, Brom, Mikael, even though they had completely different mentalities, they have that same look in their eyes, like a wild animal that couldn't rest until it's hunger was sated.

Then she started thinking about the connection as she fell asleep in his warm, comfortable embrace. He watched her drift off, still tenderly caressing her back before gently kissing her forehead then laying his head back, his eyes not leaving her.

"Sleep tight...I hope you'll be able to forgive me should you find out." He said quietly, a lone tear falling from his eye when he did as he starts reluctantly drifting off himself.

* * *

_He opened his eyes, the morning sun barely peeking through the curtains as he struggled to wake up. Overall, though, he felt relaxed, it had been awhile since_

_he felt like without some kind of help and he liked it. He smiles a little and was fixing to check on Elsa when he smelled something. "Blood?" He asked himself curiously when he tasted something all too familiar. "No..." He started to panic, even more so when he noticed his hands, which were covered in blood._

_"NO!" He roars before looking down at Elsa, a mortified look crossing his face when he saw her mutilated body laying on top of him, a horrified and betrayed look in_

_her lifeless eyes. His blood boiled and the change started to take him again before he heard a familiar laugh, his now golden eyes turning to the source_

_where he noticed a tall, rather heavy built man with dirty blonde hair that had a distinct white streak along the bangs, almost black eyes and distinguished canines glaring at him contently._

_"Well done, Mikael. You've finally stooped to my level." The man he recognized as Robert said coldly as Mikael started changing then lunging at him until his vision goes black..._

* * *

His eyes shoot open when the nightmare ended, flashing gold as soon as he did when his body nearly shoots up before he remembered Elsa being asleep on top of him...he hoped. He was almost scared to even look at her after that, but he had to know that she was okay.

His eyes hesitantly move to her and he lets out a relieved sigh when he saw her still peacefully sleeping on his chest, her fingers gently caressing him as his heart started slowing down and he snaps back to reality. "When will it fucking end?" He grumbles to himself as he lays his head back in an attempt to relax a little before noticing Elsa stir a little bit, her drowsy eyes going straight to him.

"What's wrong?" She asks in a concerned tone. "Bad dream..." He says softly before he felt her comforting touch on his cheek. "How bad...?" She asks softly, almost making him just burst into tears when she did.

"Maddening..." He says simply, not really sure how else to describe it. She sighs softly and snuggles closer to him before kissing his cheek. "It's just a dream...I promise." She says in a soothing tone as she felt him slowly relaxing in her arms before noticing the still mortified look in his eyes.

"Mikael...? Look at me..." She said gently, noticing him hesitate at first before he reluctantly meets her gaze. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he looked like he was looking at a ghost. "It's okay...it's not real...whatever it is, it's not real..." She whispers soothingly as she caressed his cheek before his eyes start drooping again.

"Sorry for waking you up..." He says softly before noticing a light smile cross her lips. "Don't worry about it...as long as you're okay." She says sweetly before laying her head down again, Mikael following suit as they both drifted off again...

* * *

**Figured it was time for a relatively intimate chapter, so here ya go. Now, we know exactly what Robert's up to and how he intends to pull it off.**

**So, what's next? Well, the festival's just around the corner and the castle's definitely gonna be crowed and things will happen. Some good, some bad, some simply mad, but how chaotic will it really get?**

**So, anyway, I hope I didn't make this too cheesy, but I wanted to make sure I covered a good bit and worked in some sweet points along the way and boy what a disturbing dream towards the end, huh?**

**Well, hope y'all like it and thank ya for reading...**


	12. Chapter 12: Final Preparations

He almost didn't want to wake up when he remembered the nightmare, expecting to find Elsa laying dead on top of him, but his fears were put at bay when he felt her breathing comfortably in his arms and he hesitantly opens his eyes.

His vision was a little blurry considering he was still half asleep, but it wasn't anything that would hinder him in any way. He looks towards Elsa to see her still sleeping with a cute smile on her face and her arm gently draped across his chest, making a light smile cross his lips when he saw her. He starts gently playing with a loose lock of her hair, his fingertips gently caressing her forehead when he does when he noticed a familiar scent right beside the bed.

When he looks to the source, he noticed the king of Corona, Elsa's uncle Harknir sitting in a chair with his eyes locked on them. "Your highness." He bows his head respectfully before noticing him shake his head.

"Just call me Harknir, boy." He said simply, making Mikael study him curiously. "Can I ask you something, Mikael?" Harknir asks simply. Mikael raised his eyebrow a little then nods. "I don't see why not." He says calmly.

"How far are you willing to go to protect my niece?" Mikael's eyes drop a little when he heard the question, reliving his oldest nightmare and the one from last night before looking back at him.

"To make a long story short, I know this secret that could protect Arendelle from this...monster that intends to drown the kingdom in it's own blood, but should that secret get out, it could still lead to a sort of mass genocide." He answers in a quiet, tortured tone, Harknir simply studying him and putting the pieces together in his head.

"Why exactly is that?" He asks calmly. "Because this...secret has a bad habit of retaliating when it's true nature's been exposed. I couldn't tell you why or how, but after the monster's been dealt with, I'll most likely have to leave Arendelle to avoid putting everyone here in even more danger." Mikael answers, looking back to Elsa with an apologetic look in his eyes.

"You've met her before, haven't you?" Harknir asks curiously when he noticed the look in his eyes. Mikael went quiet, not really sure how to answer him. Chances were, he already figured it out, but he wasn't going to just out and tell him just in case he didn't. "Sort of..." He answered dully, noticing Harknir nod a little.

"When?" He asks, his tone not changing. "Thirteen years ago..." Mikael answered quietly. Hearing that made Harknir remember something that Elsa's parents told him about after her accident with Anna, which happened sometime before this particular incident.

"When she was little, her parents told me about an incident that happened a couple of weeks after she accidentally hurt Anna. From what her father told me, she was being attacked by a giant black wolf that could walk like a man, a werewolf if you want specifics." Harknir started, Mikael's blood boiling a little when he heard the term "werewolf".

"I honestly didn't believe him at first, but when I saw the terror in his and Elsa's eyes, I was convinced. Anyway, I asked her about it and she told me she had went into the forest to get away from everything at least for a little while when the beast found her. Of course, she tried to run away from it when she saw it only to trip on a root and find herself at it's mercy." He continued as tears started forming in Mikael's eyes as the entire night repeats itself in his head.

"But, then she told me something that I found really interesting. She said the wolf had her pinned down and was about to finish her off when it stops, like it heard her cries and started second guessing itself. It was apparently loosening it's grasp on her when her father and the guards found them before it lunged towards them, killing any guards that tried to fight it while they escaped." He finished when he noticed Mikael looking at Elsa and fighting back tears, a tormented and restless look in his eyes.

"I had always said I would most likely kill the monster that attacked Elsa that night if I ever came face to face with it, but now that I've met him and learned that he's been torturing himself because of it and is even willing to isolate himself from someone that makes him happy out of fear of hurting her...it's like seeing the fear Elsa felt when she hurt her little sister all over again." He said calmly as Mikael struggles to keep from crying.

"She doesn't know it was you, does she?" He asks before Mikael shakes his head. "It'd break her heart..." He says quickly, making Harknir sigh a bit. "And leaving her without giving her a good reason won't?" He said simply, making Mikael look at him curiously.

"Elsa shut her sister out for thirteen years after that accident, which destroyed Anna after all the fun they had together then Elsa suddenly not wanting anything to do with her and she couldn't tell her why." He explained, studying Mikael as he did.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you let that guilt eat away at you for the rest of your life, you're never going to be happy and things will only get worse. It won't be easy and it may take a while, but you need to learn how to forgive yourself before you simply presume someone will hate you if they learned the truth. Besides, no one would understand what you're dealing with better than her." He said as he motioned to Elsa, Mikael looking down at her quietly.

"I am curious about something, though if you don't mind telling me." He requested before Mikael looks toward him again. "Who turned you?" He asks simply, noticing him think for a minute before shaking his head lightly.

* * *

"Nature..." He answers bluntly, making Harknir study him again before nodding contently. "I see..." He says quietly before looking between them, noticing Elsa snuggle up to Mikael a little more which made him smile a bit.

"She likes you, a lot. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time and I think it's long overdue. Mikael, you're a better man than you think and I know what you make yourself out to be, Flynn told me quite a few stories about you and honestly, the more he told me, the more I saw a soldier that was simply following orders rather than a scoundrel who was in it for his own personal game and he may be scared of you, but that's more because he still thinks you might beat a few coins out of him." They both chuckled lightly at the end.

"Well, in his defense, when I found out he was short on what he owed I told him I was gonna hang him from your castle by his tool the next time I saw him..." Mikael smirks a bit, making Harknir laugh a little before shaking his head.

"That's a little harsh, isn't it?" He chuckled a bit, making Mikael shake his head. "Back in those days, he's lucky I even told him what I was gonna do instead of just doing it." He shrugs a little, noticing Harknir nod a bit. "Good point." He said simply before they notice Elsa stirring a bit.

"Well, I'm going to leave you two alone, let you get ready. Festival's tonight." He smiled a Mikael frown a little, remembering what Mercer said about "last minute recruiting".

"Okay, we should be down in a minute." He says calmly as Harknir stood up to leave before bowing a bit. "I'll see you down stairs." He said before leaving the room. Mikael looks to Elsa, honestly wanting to let her rest a little longer, but something told him that the council would hunt them down if she wasn't there soon.

He gently nudges her arm, making her moan lightly before wiggling in his arms a bit then sighing comfortably. He laughs a little before shaking his head then nudging her again. "Elsa...come on, time to get up." He says calmly before she slowly opens her eyes, looking up at him when she does.

"What time is it?" She asks sleepily. "Maybe about eight, nine in the morning." He answers softly before she yawns cutely. "A few more minutes..." She says sweetly, making him chuckle a bit.

"Promise to wake up when I ask ya to?" He asks playfully, making her nod innocently. "Promise." She says softly before stroking his cheek. He smiles and shakes his head before meeting her sleepy eyes again. "Fine, just a few more minutes." He said calmly, making her smile lightly. "Thank you." She says in a cute tone before snuggling up to him again while he lightly caresses her.

"Did you ever get back to sleep?" She asks gently. "It took a little bit, but yeah." He said softly before noticing her smile grow a little. "I'm glad; you worried me last night..." She says softly, sighing a little afterwards.

"Sorry about that." He said calmly, making her shake her head. "It's okay, you couldn't help it." She said in a gentle tone, staring deep into his eyes when she does. "Can I ask you something?" She asks in a light tone before he nods a little.

"If your secret wasn't as dangerous as you say it is, would you tell me?" She tenderly caressed his cheek when she asked, noticing him look at her curiously, almost convincing himself to tell her right then, but simply said.

"Of course..." His voice was quiet and a little depressed like he started scolding himself for not telling her, but calms down a little when she laced her fingers with his and lightly kissed him. "Well, should it become less dangerous, I'll listen." She says in a warm tone, making him smile lightly.

"Thanks..." He says softly as she plays with his bangs. "It's nothing..." She smiles. "Still, it means a lot..." He said softly as she holds him close, making him hold her a little tighter. She wanted so badly to ask, a few questions actually, but she didn't want to prod at him, especially after his nightmare last night.

* * *

It was maybe thirty minutes to an hour when they finally made it to the throne room and Elsa had just finished telling the council about Mikael's suggestion for the festival. "A bon fire?" Anna asks curiously.

"Yeah, it'd be just like any other party, just picture it outside by the fjord around a maybe fifty foot fire." Mikael answered simply, making her think for a minute, nodding contently when she pictured it.

"It'd be different. Besides, as long as Elsa likes the idea, I like it." She said calmly, everyone else in the throne room thinking among themselves as they try to picture the vision in their heads. "As long as we can avoid setting Arendelle on fire." William said in a dull tone, making Mikael shoot him an irritated look.

"That's why I suggested setting it up by the fjord. If you build it near water, it keeps it from getting out of hand." He explains to the council simply, about ninety percent of them nodding in agreement. "Well, it looks like we have our theme for the festival." Elsa says contently as she leans back in the throne a little.

"I'll send some men to gather wood." Kai says calmly before making his way to the door. "Thanks, Kai." She smiles a little. "So, is there anything else we need to cover before we get ready or can it wait?" She asks calmly, noticing the council talk among themselves for a few minutes before answering.

"No, your majesty. I think we've covered the main priorities for today." Someone said calmly before William speaks up, finally saying something that made sense.

"What about the werewolves? We'll need to increase security." Everyone nodded when they heard the statement, even Elsa was thinking about what to do. "Leave that to me." Talia said quickly, catching everyone's attention.

"I can work with Cedric while the party's being put together and we should be ready by nightfall." She said simply. "Very well. Court's dismissed for the rest of the day, see everyone tonight." Elsa says calmly before everyone started leaving.

"Y'all got a minute?" Mikael asks after the council left, everyone that was left looking towards him, Harknir and Elsa in particular. "Sure, what is it?" Elsa studies him curiously as he reached into one of his pockets and pulls out a somewhat tattered map and hands it to her.

"I found this at the ruins of a camp yesterday, I meant to give it to you as soon as I got back, but I ran into a few distractions." He says simply before Elsa unfolds the map, frowning a little when she studied it. "Mikael, what is this?" She asks hesitantly, everyone else studying her curiously.

"What's wrong?" Rapunzel and Anna asked almost at the same time. "I think it's Robert's plans, I found it in a satchel with a few others from past raids and...according to that, he's been planning this "war" for years." Mikael answers, trying to keep a steady voice so he wouldn't startle them too much.

The most horrified look he had ever seen formed on their faces when they heard that and they all had so many questions, they're heads would probably explode if he answered all of them. The throne room started to freeze over the more Elsa thought about this and she almost froze the map to her hands until Mikael carefully took it from her before laying it to the side then gently taking her hands and meeting her eyes.

"He won't win, Elsa. I'll make sure he doesn't." He says in a soft, reassuring tone that made her start relaxing and thaw out the throne room before taking a deep breath.

"Well, thanks for letting me know even if it was a little late...and if you don't mind giving the satchel to Talia when you get a chance just in case there's a few more clues in it." She says nervously before he nods. "No problem." He hugged her lightly as she laced her arms around him comfortably.

"Thank you." She says softly. "Anytime." He said gently, feeling everyone's eyes on them, but for the first time since he got here, it didn't bother him. "Well, I guess we need to get to our errands before everyone else arrives." She says calmly.

"That'd be best." Harknir says simply before Anna and Rapunzel give Elsa an eager look. "Can Mikael come with us after he gives Talia what she needs?" Anna asked quickly, making Mikael raise his eyebrow a bit. "If he wants to." Elsa says calmly before they look towards him.

"Ya ain't gonna get another brush stuck in my hair, are ya?" He asked in a simple tone, making everyone nearly fall out laughing.

"No! I can't tell you, though, it's a surprise." Anna said with a light smirk, making him study her more. "Okay, but if ya make me look like some weird ass monkey, I will embarrass both of ya so damn bad, we'll have to come up with a new definition for the word." He said sarcastically.

"You'll look just fine, I promise." Anna said happily before he kind of nods his head. "If you say so." He shrugs a little. "We'll just have to try a few things and see what works." She said simply with a light smile. "I'm holdin ya to it." He smirks. Elsa smiles a little before her uncle speaks up.

"Well, we should get to it before night sneaks up on us." He said calmly, everyone nodding in agreement. "Of course." Elsa says simply before they each go to do their little tasks they had to get done before nightfall. Mikael was about to leave until...

* * *

"Can I talk to you, since we're alone?" She asks him calmly. "Something wrong?" He asks concerned before she shakes her head. "No, I just want to talk. If that's okay." She said in a reassuring tone as he sits back down. "Of course, why wouldn't it be?" He says simply, making her smile a bit.

"I just wanted to make sure." She says softly before meeting his eyes. He sighed lightly. "Look, I know I've been keeping a lot of secrets...and even worse, I haven't given you a legitimate reason why I have so many secrets, but please don't let that make you uncomfortable when you're talking to me, okay?" He says in a gentle tone before noticing her eyes drop a little.

"Sorry. I just don't want to make you mad or..." She started before he reassuringly strokes her cheek. "There's nothing you can say or do that's gonna make me mad, Elsa." He says, not changing his tone when he does as she locks eyes with him again. She took a deep breath before giving him a concerned look.

"Your friend...Mercer...can we trust him?" She asks somewhat hesitantly. He really didn't blame her for asking him that, Mercer has always been a deceitful bastard, but for now, they had a common enemy.

"To an extent..." He answers simply, making her raise her eyebrow curiously. "What do you mean?" She asks curiously.

"I ain't gonna lie; Mercer is about a slimy, irritable, paranoid son of a bitch that will stab you in the back quicker than most anybody. That's why I didn't tell you about him, didn't want him getting ideas after Robert's been dealt with." He explains calmly, noticing her face drop a little when he finished. "Then why trust him?" She asks calmly.

"I don't, I suggest you not trust him either. I know Mercer, I know what he's capable of and there's two reasons why I haven't killed him yet." He answered bluntly. Elsa studied him for a minute when he said that and waits for him to finish.

"First off, Mercer's pretty much the only other person that's been with the clan other than me or Selena who want his head on a spike and I'm honestly the only one who managed to leave the clan that's still alive to talk about it, so Mercer doesn't have the stomach to try and fight me, but that won't stop him from trying to gain leverage if he finds an opportunity." He continues in a simple tone, noticing a very confused expression on her face.

"What's the other reason?" She asks quietly before noticing him smirk. "He can get some damn good leaf." He says with a light chuckle, which made her smile lightly. "I guess that's the best we can ask for, huh?" She asks softly.

"For now." He said simply. She nods contently before readjusting herself in the throne before looking back towards him. "What was she like?" She asks kind of hesitantly, making him raise his eyebrow a little. "Who?" He asks calmly.

"Selena..." She says softly, noticing him hesitate a bit then taking a breath. "Well, she always liked being around nature rather than being cooped up with the clan, always saying they made her want to do so many unnatural things to them that even she thought it was cruel. Don't get me wrong, she was sweet if she liked you, but it wasn't a good idea to get on her bad side." He said calmly, Elsa listening intently.

"How easy was it to get on her bad side?" She asks curiously. "Being like Robert, or ninety percent of the clan. Other than that, she'd love you to death and even..." He stopped at the end before she comfortably strokes his cheek. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't..." He stops her, shaking his head lightly.

"It's fine, she'd probably kick my ass if she saw me like this to be honest. Either that or get you to do it." He kind of chuckles when he said the last part. She smiles lightly when he chuckled then takes his hand. "I'm sure she'd be proud of you." She says sweetly, making him smile a little. "Maybe." He said calmly.

"That book...where did she find it?" She asks somewhat hesitantly. "Long story short, she was a very talented witch." He answers simply, making her curiosity grow. "Did she...teach you any magic?" She asks calmly before he shrugs lightly.

"Basics like alchemy, identifying runes and curses, talking to animals to an extent, a little bit of enchanting which really comes in handy at times and just a little elemental magic." He answered calmly, making her eyes widen a little.

* * *

"Can you show me...?" She requests intrigued, making him nod lightly before raising his free hand then snapping his fingers, igniting his thumb with a small ice blue flame that almost instantly hypnotized her. "Wow..." She says softly, her eyes locked on the flickering blue flame until he lowers his thumb and puts it out, bringing her back to reality. "How much can you do? I mean, like that." She asks curiously.

"Nothing like you can do, I can light fuses quicker, channel a specific element into my weapons or manipulate them to somewhat limited success." He answers, noticing her smile lightly. "That's pretty impressive by itself." She said sweetly, making him smile a little. "Thanks." He said lightly before they look outside.

"We need to go." She said as they stand up. "Yeah." He said before they end up in each other's way, blushing when they did. She looks to him with a cute look in her eyes that made his knees start going weak before he felt her hand on his shoulder, which made him gently lace his arms around her.

Their eyes lock and they smile timidly before leaning into each other, craving each other's lips as they barely started to meet until a surge of adrenaline suddenly shoots through Mikael's body and nearly makes him collapse in her arms before he managed to catch himself.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She asks frantically with a shocked look on her face as Mikael gathers himself. "Ugh, I don't know. It's like I just got hit by lightning or something then I just went numb." He says in a confused tone, her concern growing.

"Will you be...?" She asks softly, lightly stroking his cheek when she does. "I'll be fine. It's...probably just stress." He said in a reassuring tone, making her nod lightly. "Okay...Don't scare me like that." She said with a subtle whimper in her voice.

"Sorry." He said calmly before she takes his hand. "It's okay. I just...thought I lost you for a minute." She says quietly, a reassuring smile crossing his face as he gently strokes her cheek. "I'm fine, really." He said sweetly. "Promise?" She asks. "Promise." He says gently, trying not to hesitate when he did.

He met up with Anna and Rapunzel in the market after his talk with Elsa and delivering the satchel to Talia then learns that they wanted to take him shopping, insisting that he should have something nice to wear to the festival.

"Do you treat every guest to a new suit?" He asked sarcastically, making them laugh when he did. "No, just the special ones." Anna said in a giggly tone, making him shake his head a little. "And by special, I'm assuming you mean the ones who might catch Elsa's eye?" He said with a light chuckle, noticing her and Rapunzel kind of frown when he did.

"Actually...you're the only person other than Anna who's actually made her this happy..." Rapunzel says simply, making him look down a little and made him feel horrible for saying that. "You're...kidding, right?" He asks somewhat dully before noticing them shake their heads in unison.

Needless to say, that kind of shocked him, he would have thought someone as beautiful, sweet and caring as she was would have at least one suitor if not two, but then he thought... "Powers, mortals are intimidated by power. And she's still not quite used to people on top of that? Yeah, that probably has a lot to do with it." He kind of rambles in his head before turning his attention back to them.

"Has she ever...talked to any potential suitors or is that too personal?" He asks in a simple tone, his silver eyes steadily watching them. "The council's tried to find her a few, but they usually only have one of two things on their mind..." Anna answered in a rather cold tone, Mikael nodding lightly when she did.

"Figures..." He grumbled, catching their attention again. "I wish they'd just leave her alone about it, she's going to fall for whoever she wants to either way, why can't they just stay out of it." Anna started ranting, Rapunzel kind of shrugging to herself when she did until Mikael moves a little closer to them, watching a few members of the council pass by.

"Welcome to the never ending game of chess known as politics." He said simply, making them both raise their eyebrows curiously. "What do you mean by that?" Rapunzel asks calmly, making him motion them a little closer.

* * *

"Listen close, because I'm about to give y'all a little insight into the mentality of your average politician. I'm gonna warn ya, though, it ain't gonna be pretty..." He says in a quiet tone that only they could hear, their curiosity growing when he did.

"Now, before I start, what would be your first assumption if a member of your royal council tried to set you up with someone you never met before? Just...hypothetically speaking." He asks dully, making them raise their eyebrows a little.

"Um...Honestly, it depends on who it was." Anna says calmly, making him nod a little. "Let's say it was someone who kind of gives off a bad vibe or you trust them at length and they're introducing you to a prince whose of course handsome, charming, chivalrous even, everything you imagined." He explains simply, making them look at each other curiously before looking back at him.

"This is...hypothetical, right?" Rapunzel asked hesitantly before he nods. "Completely." He said. "Well...I'd probably see where it goes and if we hit it off, great, if not, oh well." She answers calmly, Anna nodding in agreement, remembering how Hans stabbed her in the back.

"Fair answer. Now, here's the motive behind that individual's "act of kindness" and what could easily happen should it fail enough to put them at a setback." He begins, their attention locked on him.

"We're going to use William as an example here since he's a perfect candidate. Anyway, he'd find a prince or a series of princes in foreign countries to marry you or Elsa in the hopes of forming an alliance with said province, which would definitely be set if said arrangement produced an heir. Seems innocent enough, sure, but his mind is set on one thing, just how much power he can gain over Arendelle before he's discovered and he's willing to pay through the nose to get it if he has to." He continued, their eyes widening as he explained all this to them.

"So...he's trying to take the throne from Elsa..." Anna says quietly, a mortified look on her face. "Exactly, but only if she doesn't do exactly what he wants her to and he'd most likely try to control you if you would let him. Basically, he's trying to control things from behind the scenes and only let what he thinks both of you should know reach Elsa while keeping things like the werewolf attacks to himself until it gets out of hand in the hopes that the citizens would sooner or later rise against both of you and turn Elsa into the very thing she doesn't want to be before poisoning her drink and possibly yours one night at dinner." He says, Anna shaking her head in disbelief while Rapunzel simply stares at him in shock.

"And if none of that works...?" Anna asks with a squeak. "That's when they send people like me who ain't scared to get their hands dirty...to "clean up the mess". Then about half the time tries to skip out on paying us and end up disappearing..." He answers simply, their dumbfound eyes locked on him when he did as they each struggle to ask him something else.

"Have you..." Rapunzel starts quietly, not really sure if she could ask. "I've probably got more blood on my hands than most could even hope to spill in a lifetime and I did it without remorse or hesitation." He answered bluntly, their eyes dropping a little when they heard his answer.

"How...?" Anna asks, making him shake his head a little. "Survival. It was either me or them and well...you see how that turns out. No, I ain't proud of what I've done, but there's a good bit of it I don't regret either for one reason or another and you'd have to be raised in the dark corners of the world to completely understand circumstances otherwise, it'd most likely sound like petty excuses. To put it bluntly, if I didn't carry out my orders exactly how I was told to do so, not only did I forfeit my pay, but it was taken out of my hide through means that would probably make your stomach turn if I told you any details." He answers calmly, tears starting to stream from her eyes when he did, which made Rapunzel give her a comforting hug.

"Trust me, I wish I had a better story to tell..." He said calmly, making Anna shake her head lightly in her cousin's arms. "It's okay...it can't really be easy talking about something like that." She says with a subtle whimper in her voice before looking in his eyes curiously.

"Tell me something, though...is all of that the reason you kept saying Elsa deserves better than you...?" She asks sadly, watching his eyes drop when she did before he takes a deep breath.

"That...and a few other things that I'd rather not relive right now." He answers simply before she nods her head in understanding before they start scanning the market. They browsed different stands, giving Mikael different outfits to try on and seeing how he'd look.

* * *

"Hmmm...something about black really brings out that edgy, mysterious feel that almost hypnotizes you." Anna said with a smirk, making Rapunzel giggle lightly. "Yeah...it's almost like he's something else..." She said before they look towards him to see him scratching like ants were crawling all over him.

"Damn, how do y'all stand this itchy shit?!" He grumbles irritably, desperately rubbing up against the closest post to try and get every corner of his body. They laugh lightly while they watch him and Anna shakes her head.

"Maybe we should find something that's made a little different..." She said calmly, Mikael fighting the urge to rip the suit off and sling it into a fire so he wouldn't be wasting their money. "Something without fleas in it, if you don't mind." He says sarcastically, making them laugh more as they hand him a royal blue suit with red trim that was made of a more comfortable material.

"Here, try this." Anna says quickly when she gave him the outfit. "Hmm...okay." He shrugs a little then disappears in the small shack behind him to change, coming out a few minutes later.

"Not bad, not bad. That blue doesn't really go with his eyes, though." Anna says calmly as she studies him, Rapunzel nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I think I liked the black better." She said simply, Mikael tugging at the sleeves a little bit. "This supposed to dig into your armpits?" He asks sarcastically, making them giggle lightly.

"What's the most formal thing you've worn?" Anna asks curiously. Mikael raises his eyebrow then shakes his head a little. "My armor, a dueling jacket every now and then. Nothing like these fucking monkey suits." He answers with a light grumble before she motions for him to go change while they find him something else to try.

"Hey! How about this?" Rapunzel shows Anna a black suede suit with red lining, ice blue trim and dark leather shoulder caps. Anna smiles contently as she studies the outfit before looking toward the shack. "Hey, Mikael." She called out, making him peek from behind the door where he saw her handing him the suit. He studies it for a moment before taking it from her then disappearing again.

"Yeah, that's the one." Anna and Rapunzel said at the same time as they studied him. He nods contently while he moves around in the outfit, content with the fact it actually felt like clothing and didn't make him look like an idiot. "That's what I'm talking about; this is what clothes are supposed to be." He said calmly before pulling out a large coin purse...

* * *

**"NO! Don't end it there, you fuckin fool!"**

**Trust me, I would have come up with something a little better, but I wasn't quite sure where to go from there without bleeding too much into**

**the next chapter that it'd be ridiculous. Anyway, here's chapter 12 and before I continue, I'd like to thank zecrayz for the advice**

**and apologize for not fixing it yet, but I'm tinkering and trying to see what I can do without making it look too tacky and would appreciate some suggestions to make that work**

**if you have any. Well, hope y'all enjoy despite the shitty format and hopefully I'll have that fixed soon, but for now, I'll see y'all next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13: Outlaw's Guile

He felt bad for being late, but full moon, big crowds and a very unpredictable strain of lycanthropy would most likely lead to a gruesome mess if somebody somehow struck the right nerve.

So, he figured before he actually joined everyone by the fire, he took a few hits from his pipe, the combination of the icy blue flame on the tip of his thumb and the smoke from the light green leaf giving off a unique glow as it flutters into the sky.

"I need to get over there before somebody sends a search party." He said calmly before dousing the light flare in his pipe then put it away as his shimmering silver eyes move to the towering fire at the edge of the fjord, countless conversations assaulting his sharply tuned ears.

"Do you think it's true? Queen Elsa's found a suitor?" One man asks, the other shrugging his shoulders. "From what I've heard, he seems like a decent fellow, but if the council doesn't find some royal connection in his bloodline, they'll most likely try to keep it from happening." Another said kind of dully, catching the other two's attention.

"True, but apparently someone in the council tried to turn her against him by getting him to admit he was once a criminal." The second said calmly, the first raising his eyebrow. "What'd he do?" The man asked.

"Told the entire court that he was indeed one of the most cold blooded killers to ever walk this earth before coming up with so much dirt on not just that particular council member, but probably a few more that you'd think they would have done something drastic." The second man answered, the others listening intently.

"They're probably scared he'll make them disappear if they did, Princess Anna told me he's very protective of them." The first man says calmly.

"Well, cutthroat or not, as long as he makes the queen happy and looks out for Arendelle, that should be all that matters." The third man says before the other two nod in agreement before going by the fire, drinks in hand.

Mikael studied the group as he slithered into the crowd, it was kind of weird hearing people say good things about him instead of whispering his name in fear like he was the devil or as most usually put it, the thing that cast out the devil after beating him to the brink of death.

"Interesting switch..." He shakes his head a little before he notices Elsa talking to the king and prince of Valthiem whom they had met earlier. He recognized the king, a man named Arn who most likely would have tried to kill him during a jailbreak if he hadn't of lost him in the courtyard.

"Well, wonder if he's still got that chip on his shoulder." He said sarcastically, still studying them quietly when he turns his attention to Arn's son, Prince Sebastian, the perfect definition of the term "brat prince" and had the makings of a future tyrant which was in a way making him regret having to hide his nature.

"Do tell me, Queen Elsa. How would Arendelle be a benefit to Valtheim when we married?" The prince asked rudely, making Mikael's eyes flash gold, Arn glare to his son and almost made Elsa want to hurl, but she managed to keep her reserve.

"Well, we certainly have many resources that your kingdom could probably benefit from, but marriage is a little..." She explains calmly, Sebastian shaking his head as Mikael moves through the crowd towards them, a small pouch in his hand. Sure, he said he'd behave tonight, but in a way, he really wasn't misbehaving.

"I'm afraid we can't come to an agreement until..." "Sebastian!" Arn snapped quickly, making the prince glare at him before Elsa lets out a relieved sigh. "Sorry father..." He grumbled before taking a swig of his drink, his stomach groaning uncomfortably when he did.

Sebastian grasps his stomach uncomfortably for a minute, grumbling when he does until the festering suddenly relaxes. "Phew." He said in relief, not even realizing that someone slipped a rather unappealing surprise in his drink while he was trying to "negotiate" with Elsa for her hand.

"I apologize for prince Sebastian's outburst, your majesty. This...is his first time coming with me to a foreign province." Arn said in an ashamed tone, Elsa shaking her head lightly.

"It's fine. I'm just...not ready for marriage." She said simply. "And that's perfectly alright, I prefer discussing business relations with my allies, not matrimony." He said calmly, Elsa smiling contently before suddenly smelling something horrible that was coming from Sebastian. "She wrinkles her nose a little then leans close to Arn.

"I think your son had a little...accident." She says quietly, making Arn sniff the air a little then wrinkle his nose before turning to his son. "Bas, go check yourself." He said in a low tone, making him raise his eyebrow before he caught a whiff of himself, a humiliated and infuriated look crossing his face when he realized what they were talking about.

"GOD DAMMIT!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, everyone staring at him with their mouths a-gate as he stomps away from Elsa and his father, who was shaking his head dully. Mikael casually walks by the "welp" and "accidentally" tripping him. "Oops." He said wittily as the prince collapses in the dirt, cursing and ranting as he angrily struggles to his feet.

Arn chuckled lightly when he saw what happened, secretly content that someone had brought his son down a notch which made Elsa study him curiously despite the amused smile on her face.

"I say the little punk had it coming myself." Mikael said in a quiet tone, a smirk on his lips and making her jump then quickly turn towards him, raising her eyebrow when she noticed him smirking.

"I'm guessing you had something to do with that..." She says quietly, making him roll his eyes innocently. "Well, you never know. There could be other people here who can get a hold of "stomach cleaners"." He answers simply, keeping a low tone and making her giggle lightly.

"You couldn't find something that smelled better...?" She teased a little, making him snicker. "Probably, but fire crackers tend to make a bigger mess." He said simply, making her laugh more until Mikael noticed Arn looking at them.

"Um, I'm sorry, your majesty, but I'm afraid I didn't see the hooligan that spiked the prince's drink. If I find him, though,I'll bring him to ya." He says casually, making a confused look cross her face until she remembers Sebastian's father behind her.

"Friend of yours, your majesty?" Arn asks calmly, studying Mikael curiously before she nods. "Yes, this is Mikael. He's been helping Arendelle take care of a..." She pauses suddenly, thinking that mentioning werewolves would probably ruin their agreement.

"Animal problem." Mikael says simply, making Arn raise his eyebrow lightly. "Wolves have been attacking merchants coming from neighboring kingdoms and I volunteered to thin them out a little." He explained calmly, Elsa looking between them before Arn nods contently. "Well, I hope it hasn't hurt Arendelle too much." He said calmly before clearing his throat.

"Anyway, I presume you have business to discuss, so...I'll leave you to it." He says casually before leaving them, smirking a little as he did. "So, he's the mysterious suitor...at least she found someone that can sniff out a traitor." He said to himself as he walked off.

* * *

"I swear he recognizes me." Mikael said calmly when he was out of ear shot, making her laugh a little. "You're just being paranoid. Relax." She says sweetly before gently taking his hand.

"Easier said then done sometimes. Chances are half of these dignitaries probably want my head on a spike, so relaxing ain't that easy." He shrugs a little, making her shake her head.

"Mikael. It's all in your head. Okay? No one here's going to try and kill you." She says gently, a comforting look in her eyes. He smiles lightly when she said that, wanting to let his guard down more, but that'd still be a bad idea.

She was about to say something else before they heard Kai clearing his throat. "The Duke of Weasel..." He starts. "Weselton!" The duke snaps before turning back to Elsa, who had a cautious look in her eyes.

"Your majesty..." He starts before noticing Mikael out of the corner of his eye, specifically the animalistic glimmer in his eyes. "Who are you?" The duke asks him quickly, making Elsa raise her eyebrow a little. "Name's Mikael." He answers simply while the duke studies him suspiciously.

""Who do you work for?" He asked in a quicker tone, making Mikael shrug lightly. "Myself. What's it to ya?" He says bluntly, the duke's face going pale and a look crossing it like he had just seen a ghost after he recognizes the "man" in front of him.

"Y...you...m...monster...mmurderer...demon!" He says frantically before backing away then disappearing into the crowd, Elsa studying a strangely calm Mikael curiously.

"He found me one time while I was tracking Robert...and thought I was a werewolf..." He explained simply, her confused eyes still studying him. She recognized the fear in the duke's eyes, it was the same look he gave her when she revealed her powers only...a lot worse.

She shakes her head lightly before pulling him a little closer. "Don't let him bother you...if he tries to do anything, the guards will take care of him." She says softly, a warm smile creeping across her lips. "I ain't worried about him, I owe him about two years of howling and growling." He smirks wittily, making her giggle lightly.

"I'm tempted to let you do it. But, that'd just prove him right." She said simply, making him nod lightly. Sure, the duke calling him a "demon" was justified in a way, but it would most likely look bad on Elsa if he did start messing with him.

"Yeah, good point." He said calmly before they noticed someone coming towards them. The man wore a white suit with a burgundy scarf, navy trim and gold buttons. The man resembled Hans in a way, but he was a good bit older, which led Elsa to assume this was his father.

The man bowed respectfully when he reaches them. "Queen Elsa. I'm King Joric of the Southern Isles, I wanted to personally apologize for my son's behavior during your coronation. I would have come sooner, but many in the court weren't too comfortable with sentencing a prince." He said in a generous tone.

"It's okay...I can't help but to pity him, though. I know what it's like being misunderstood. Don't get me wrong, I won't completely forgive him, but in a way, I can understand what drove him to it." She says calmly, Joric studying her for a moment before nodding contently.

"I understand. But, if it's not too bold of me to ask, would you consider a trade agreement with the Southern Isles?" He asks in a respectful tone,making her think for a minute when Mikael suddenly heard something moving around in the forest.

"Of course. I'm not going to hold your son's actions against you or your kingdom, that wouldn't be fair. Besides, if you're here personally apologizing for something he did, you can't be all bad." She says in a reassuring tone, making him bow lightly.

"Well, I thank you for your kindness." He said with a smile before looking at Mikael. "And this strapping young man must be..." He starts. "A really good friend." Elsa answers simply before she noticed Mikael studying the forest intently.

Joric chuckled lightly. "Apologies, you act like you're..." He started calmly before Elsa raises her hand. "It's okay...everyone says that." She says with a light smile, but her attention was on Mikael. Joric smiles lightly.

"Either way, I should probably leave you two alone. Until next time." He said respectfully before leaving, Elsa bowing a little when he did before gently stroking Mikael's shoulder. "What's wrong?" She asks concerned.

"Nothing, mind's playing tricks on me." He said calmly, making her sigh lightly before she caressed his cheek. "Mikael, look at me." She said quickly, bringing his eyes to meet her. "Calm down...everything's going to be okay. I promise." She says gently, still lightly caressing his cheek.

He looks deep into her eyes, his nerves calming down they met and a light sigh escaping his lips. "Okay, okay. I'm good. I'm good." He said calmly, making her smile a little.

"Go get a drink, you look like you could use it. And if you don't mind...?" She says sweetly, a pleading smile on her face when she finished. He laughed a bit when she said that then nods. "What do you want?" He asked calmly. "Surprise me." She says softly before he nods then goes to get them a drink.

Mikael was making his way back to Elsa with their drinks in hand, but he still couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was about to happen. Usually, being this paranoid didn't bother him, it made him more alert, but it was worrying Elsa to death.

"I need to tell her...tonight. I'll do it the next time we're alone, though..." He said to himself with a light sigh before someone bumps into him, almost making him drop his and Elsa's drinks.

"Oh, um, sorry about that." The man said quickly after Mikael caught himself. He looked around to find a man that was maybe in his twenties, wearing a similar white suit to king Joric and very much resembled the man.

He presumed this was probably Hans and probably would have sent him flying into the fjord if he wasn't trying to keep from turning. "It happens, highness." He said simply before Hans bows.

"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." He introduced himself in a friendly tone, but Mikael knew better, everything about him screamed "snake". "Mikael." He said before bowing his head a little, making Hans raise his eyebrow a little.

"You wouldn't happen to be the same Mikael that's courting Elsa, would you?" He asked curiously, making Mikael raise his eyebrow sarcastically. "Are you the same prince Hans that tried to kill her and Anna two months ago?" He asked in a blunt tone, making Hans kind of glare at him.

"So, you know she..." He started before Mikael nods. "Has powers, put Arendelle in an eternal winter for a couple of days and accidentally froze Anna's heart only for her to sacrifice herself to save Elsa from you? Yeah, she told me about that. What of it?" He said bluntly, making Hans gyrate with frustration.

* * *

"Who do you think you..." He starts again before Mikael interrupts. "I'm the one mother fucker here other than Elsa that you really don't want to piss off, because I ain't gonna lie to ya, Hans..." He started while Hans simply glares at him, but he didn't expect to be scolded like this.

"I would personally like to hold your head down in the fjord and keep it there until you stopped breathing, then maybe hang you from a tree by your tool just in case you managed to survive that. But, I promised Elsa I'd be a good boy tonight and I intend to keep it." He continues, making the prince's mouth drop and his eyes widen.

"I'm gonna give you this warning only once, because I really hate repeating myself. Stay away from them, act like you have at least a little sense and don't do anything that would make me break my promise to the queen." He said with a rather innocent smile as Hans started quivering.

"How dare you threaten..." He snarled before Mikael back hands him, knocking a surprised look on his face. "Threats are for petty shits like you and that witch hunting duke. I always deliver on my word." Mikael snapped coldly, making Hans glare at him before turning away and leaving.

He shakes his head before walking off, grumbling the whole time. "The nerve of some..." He stops when he noticed black claws tipping the fingers on his left hand, the same hand he hit Hans with.

"Shit." He said quickly before retracting them then just keeps walking. When he made it back to Elsa, his blood really started boiling when he saw prince Sebastian unsuccessfully trying to talk Elsa into marrying him, the distressed look on her face almost making him want to cry.

He shakes his head irritably then starts moving towards them. "Ain't either of us got time for this shit..." He grumbled as he grew closer. "Oh come,now, Queen Elsa. I would be a wonderful husband." Sebastian said proudly, almost making her hurl.

"Look, you seem like a great guy and you are rather handsome, but I'm not ready for marriage yet." She said simply, almost making him lose his temper. "Then what's all this I've been hearing about a possible suitor?" He asked irritably, making her shoot him a cold glare.

"That's none of your business..." She said calmly, his face turning red with fury. "It's my business if you want an alliance with..." He ranted before Mikael cuts in between them.

"Queen Elsa, your drink." He said calmly, extending his right arm to her. She smiles lightly and takes the cup. "Thank you." She says softly, Sebastian yanking Mikael around to face him.

"I was talking to her if you don't mind." He said rudely, making Mikael raise an eyebrow. "Really? Because it seems to me she's not interested in talking to you." He shrugs lightly, almost making smoke shoot out of the prince's ears.

"LISTEN HERE, PEASANT! I will not...!" He started before Mikael shoves a roll in his mouth, Elsa trying so hard not to laugh when he did. "There, much better. Now, while I can still hear myself think, you listen." He starts simply, Sebastian groaning irritably through the roll.

"First, you keep acting like a total dick, no woman's gonna give you the time of day, much less want to marry you. She said no, when she says no,she means no and there ain't shit you can do about it. Get over it." He continued bluntly, making the prince want to bash his face in.

"Second, you "ask" someone to marry you, don't tell them you're going to. You're damn lucky she didn't put a knife at your throat, you conceded little prick and you're damn lucky I like her enough to behave during this party or we'd have a bigger problem." He continues, making Elsa smile more as she listened.

"And lastly, don't leave your fucking drink on a table just out of your line of sight if you don't want to end up shitting yourself in front of the queen." He said quietly before turning him around and sending him on his way, a shocked look crossing his face when he heard the statement.

Mikael grins contently while Elsa gently laces her arms around him, hugging him like a teddy bear. "That was sweet...colorful as far as language, but sweet." She says softly, lightly kissing his cheek when she did.

"Well, it looked like he was grating on your nerves and something told me you weren't in the mood to put a brat on ice at the moment." He said playfully, making her laugh lightly. "Well, thanks for showing up when you did..." She says sweetly before snuggling closer to him as he wraps his arm around her.

She sighs comfortably when he embraced her and starts relaxing until they started hearing music, slow kind of romantic music. She giggles lightly when they heard it and he kind of smile as their cheeks flushed light red.

When the music started, most of the crowd paired up and embraced each other before dancing to it. Elsa watched everyone pair up before looking down shyly, still somewhat watching the crowd when they notice Anna, Kristoff, Rapunzel and Flynn participating.

Mikael studies her curiously after she lets out a light sigh, he could tell she wanted to join in, but at the same time, she wasn't sure. "You wanna dance?" He asks with a light smile, making her gaze shoot to him.

"Ummm...I don't know...I've never..." She said hesitantly before he gently laces his fingers through hers. "Well, that makes two of us." He says calmly, making her smile as he gently wraps his other arm around her waist before noticing her gloves.

He carefully started to pull one of them off before feeling her hesitate a bit, a cautious look in her eyes. He knew that look, she was worried about losing control of her powers again.

"Just pretend we're alone...okay?" He says in a comforting tone before watching her relax then nod lightly. He slowly pulls her gloves off and sticks them in his pocket before gently lacing his fingers in hers while she placed her hand on his shoulder.

She locks eyes with him as he pulls her closer and gives her a warm smile. When he knew she was comfortable, they started dancing to the rather heartwarming tune, a smile crossing Elsa's face when they started moving in unison.

The world almost disappeared around them as they lost themselves in the music, instinctively keeping in rhythm with it like this was supposed to happen, like this one moment had been picked out just for them to enjoy forever.

* * *

Everyone else stopped when they saw them dancing together, gleaming smiles decorating their lips as they gracefully sway, step and turn to the soft, subtle tune. "Awww! They're so adorable!" Anna squeals to herself while Rapunzel swoons.

"Yeah, it's like they were meant for each other!" She said happily before Kristoff and Flynn look at each other then simply shake their heads before turning their attention back to Elsa and Mikael.

Elsa started getting nervous when she felt everyone's eyes on them which made her smile start to fade and her head drop before her hands started freezing. "Eyes on me...the rest of the world doesn't exist...it's just me and you." Mikael whispers gently, his comforting tone coaxing her to look up a little.

She smiled again when their eyes lock and the frost on her hands started to retreat when she started relaxing again, her and Mikael losing themselves in the moment, hoping it would never end.

The entire world just vanished as they stared into each other's eyes before Elsa comfortably lays her head on his chest, lightly closing her eyes when she felt him hold her close to him. She wraps her arms around him and sighs lightly as the music slowly starts fading.

Mikael gently rests his head on her shoulder while the crowd engulfing them started clapping, cheering and whooping encouragingly when they finished, making Elsa look into Mikael's eyes and lightly caress his cheek.

She slowly laced her fingers around the nape of his neck, both of them enthralled by each other's eyes as their lips once again draw closer to each other,most everyone watching in anticipation as they sink further into each other's loving embrace.

This was it, this was the moment they've been craving and they were finally about to enjoy it until...Mikael felt time slow down, at first thinking it was simply his mind playing tricks on him before he noticed a rather animalistic scent.

Before anyone knew it, Mikael had pushed Elsa out of the way, sending her into Anna's arms before grabbing a werewolf by it's right arm and it's throat mid lunge then slinging it into the fire, the beast roaring and howling in pain as it burned alive.

Elsa didn't even realize what happened until she heard the wolf's dying howls then everyone looked to Mikael with stunned expression. She cautiously approached Mikael who had an urgent look in his eyes.

"We're in trouble..." He said calmly, Elsa nodding her head reluctantly before turning to the crowd with an urgent look on her face. "Everyone get to safety, if you can fight, find a weapon and prepare for battle." She said quickly as the crowd scatters, making their way back to Arendelle...

* * *

**Yay! Cliffhanger!**

**It should be a lot easier to read now and I'm gonna see about doing the last chapters like this, but it won't be right off the bat.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 13 and we're definitely getting down to the knitty gritty, so that's a good thing.**

**I honestly wish the dancing part would have been better, but I don't know a damn thing about dancing, so I mostly just improvised.**

**Well, I really can't think of much else to say except enjoy, should have the next one up soon and hopefully I'll have one of the others fixed **

**around the same time...**


	14. Chapter 14: Warrior of the Wild

Elsa and Mikael had managed to gather everyone in the courtyard when Cedric, Talia and a battalion of guards came to greet them. "We were just about to come find ya, scouts said a big ass pack's circling the city." Talia explains quickly, Elsa's face going pale when she heard the report while everyone else murmurs among themselves.

"How many?" She asked quietly, Mikael steadily studying the area around them. He already knew the answer, heightened senses made that easy enough, but there were a few too many people around to let the cat out of the bag right now. Talia shrugged her shoulders lightly while she thought of an answer.

"Twenty-six, roughly." She answered, Elsa's head dropped until... "Twenty-five..." Mikael corrects, making them look up at him. "One down, huh? That just made it a little easier." She said simply before looking back at Elsa. "Whatcha wanna do?" She asked, noticing the frightened look in the queen's eyes.

"Uncle Harknir!" She called out, the king of Corona heeding the call and approaching her. "Gather everyone in the throne room and barricade every possible entrance." She said quickly, Harknir nodding before turning to the crowd. "Everyone follow me!" He shouts before heading to the castle, the crowd following him save for a select few.

"With all due respect, Queen Elsa, you can't take on a pack of werewolves alone." Erik, the king from Siberia states simply, Joric, Kristoff, Flynn and the nobles from Dublin and Glasgow nodding in agreement. "A handful of people, one with powers against a pack of werewolves." Cedric said simply, raising his eyebrow curiously before Talia chuckles. "I've seen worse odds..." She said calmly.

Elsa smiled a little when they offered to help and didn't even know Mikael had vanished until she looked around and couldn't find him. "Where's Mikael...?" She asks in a worried tone, everyone else looking around for him until they heard the door to the castle open again, Mikael simply trotting out while he draws his sword, laying the scabbard to the side.

"Sorry about that, figured I'd go ahead and get it." He said simply before returning to Elsa's side. "So...do we have a plan?" She asked nervously, Talia looking between them calmly as the other volunteers approached. "First, for those of you who haven't faced werewolves before, the weakness to silver is greatly exaggerated. It's easier to kill one with it, but it's not a necessity. Make sure you at least cut the head off after you kill one, though." She explains calmly, everyone listening with wrapped attention.

"Other than that, watch the claws and definitely watch the teeth. If you get bitten, you're going to turn and considering the full moon's out, we might not be able to get to ya in time." She warned, everyone nodding their heads in understanding, save for Mikael who simply looked to the side when his eyes started changing colors.

"Alright, arm yourselves and keep your eyes open. These bastards literally spring out of nowhere." Talia said bluntly, each of them grabbing their own unique weapons ranging from a battle-axes and claymores to simple ice picks. "Kris, Flynn." Mikael called out to them as they grabbed the ice picks, both of them walking over when he pulls out his hatchet and his dirk,both of them eyeing the obviously silver weapons curiously.

"Pick your poison, it ain't much, but it'll make things a little easier." He said simply before walking off, Kristoff taking the hatchet while Flynn grabs the dirk, each of them dual wielding them with the picks. Talia found a high point and joined the archers who had already taken their positions and starts studying the forest intently for any signs of movement.

* * *

Everyone else had scurried to their positions and awaited the inevitable attack while Mikael searches for Elsa, his mind and heart racing as his rage started growing when the smell of his adversaries assaulted his senses, making him want to urge them inside while he taught the attackers a lesson "his way", but he preferred to simply tell Elsa what he was rather than "show" her.

He found her standing at the gates, trying to keep herself together out of fear of making things worse. He sighs lightly then gently taps her on the shoulder, making her turn to face him which made her relax when she knew who it was. "I need to talk to you...I know it's a bad time, but I don't think it can wait." He said in a kind of dull tone, making her study him curiously.

"What's wrong?" She asks concerned, making his head drop a little. "They're already in the city. Chances are they sent that one to round us up so they could take us out." He explains urgently, a horrified look forming on her face.

"I know, I should have said something before we came back to the city, but..." She stops him before he could finish. "It's okay...at least now we have a little extra advantage." She said softly before noticing him shake his head lightly. "Not if they're after something else..." He said dully, her eyes widening when she thought on his words.

"Anna...the villagers..." She squeaks lightly, Mikael's eyes dropping a little. "Rounded up in the castle like a herd of sheep." He said bluntly, almost making her fall to her knees in tears before he caught her. She whimpers lightly when she thought about the possibility that she just put her sister and the rest of Arendelle in worse danger before looking into his comforting eyes.

"What do we do...?" She asks miserably, Mikael studying the city for a moment before pulling her closer to him, her arms wrapping around him when he did. "Tell everyone to keep their attention on the castle and kill any that try to go in, no matter how strange the means of entry." He said calmly, making her study him again.

"What about you?" She asks in a worried tone, noticing a rather bloodthirsty twinkle in his eyes. "I'll hold them off as best I can before they get anywhere close." He said simply, fear and concern filling her teary eyes. "How...? If we're going to be defending the castle..." She fumbles with her words for a minute before he passionately kisses her, both of them savoring the moment they've been craving all night.

"Leave that to me..." He said softly when their lips separated, Elsa blushing lightly when he did and her heart begging her to stay with him, but at the same time, urging her to check on Anna.

"Protect your people, I'll deal with mine." He said gently, making her nod reluctantly before finding a good place where she could keep an eye on everyone and pick off any werewolves that got too close, but not before updating the others on the situation Mikael pointed out to her. Erik and Joric volunteered to guard the West side of the castle while Flynn and Kristoff took the South.

The dukes from Dublin and Glasgow went to the East side of the castle and took their positions while Cedric accompanies Elsa and Talia at the Northern side, closer to the gates while Mikael simply steps onto the bridge, daring his "brothers and sisters" to come out. Elsa watched him fearfully as he lowered his sword and stared off into the silent landscape, ice creeping along the ground where she stood.

"He'll be fine, Elsa..." Talia said reassuringly, noticing her head drop a little. "That's the same thing my parents said before..." She says quietly before she felt both of them patting her on the back. "He obviously wouldn't be out there if he didn't know what he was doing." Cedric said in a kind of blunt tone, Talia nodding in agreement before they simply look back at him intently.

* * *

Of course he could hear everything they were saying, but he couldn't let it distract him right now as much as he just wanted to hold her close and tell her everything would be alright. "Come on...I know you're there...Robert sent you for a reason...now come and get me..." He says under his breath, a cold, remorseless look in his eyes when they each notice something stepping out of the shadows.

A chill ran down Elsa and Cedric's spines when they saw the shimmering yellow eyes moving around in the dark, the beast's gaze locked with Mikael's which followed it's every move. The beast was on all fours at first, simply circling him as any challenger would before rising to it's full height, somewhere around six and a half feet, maybe a little taller.

The two adversaries stared each other down, a low growl rumbling in the beast's throat as it slowly started walking towards him, snapping it's jaws the closer it got in an attempt to intimidate him, but he didn't budge or avert his gaze. Elsa watched nervously as the wolf came closer to him, wanting to badly to run out to his side and help him, but she knew Talia and Cedric wouldn't let her if she tried.

That's when she noticed the other two climbing up the side of the bridge, her eyes widening and her fear growing as she tries to call out to him, but only managing small squeaks when she did while Talia took aim at the one on the right and Cedric pulls a bow from his back then aims at the one on the left.

Mikael simply cut his eyes between the two wolves before he inhales steadily, the silver sword igniting with a light blue flame as he quickly decapitates them before the third lunged towards him only to be caught by the throat as the supernatural flames incinerate it's brothers.

The blue flash caught everyone's attention and they were watching in awe as he downed the two monsters then caught the third mid lunge before he brutally head-butts the beast then throws it backwards, raising the still flaming blade defensively as it struggled to it's feet, disorientated by the blow to the head.

"Damn! How in the hell...?!" Talia exclaimed before they were interrupted by howling. A few of the wolves made it into the courtyard while they were distracted by Mikael's display and were cornering them. Talia and Cedric loosed their shots and took out the two on the far end before Elsa sent a blast of ice towards the others, stunning at least three,but the other two moved out of the way just in time and attempted to take her from each side until Talia and Cedric each took a head.

The three that were stunned by Elsa's attack regained themselves then lunged towards them only for Elsa to freeze them in mid-air. She got back to her feet and studied the at the moment inanimate wolf statues before turning to Talia and Cedric. "Are you alright?" She asks calmly, both of them simply nodding, still shocked by what they saw Mikael do.

Flynn and Kristoff were fighting off a group of maybe four, barely dodging the claws as they slashed and cleaved at any open spots they could find, the wounds stitching themselves back together with most every hit. "Do these things ever die?!" Flynn shouts irritably before ducking then slashing at another's arm with the silver dirk, making the beast roar in pain and it's flesh burn when the silver bites into it.

"Right...silver hurts them more. Kristoff!" He called out to the mountain man, who was wrestling with one of the beasts. "Little busy here!" He shouts back before Flynn dodged another swipe, cutting at the wolf's leg with the dirk and bringing it to it's knees.

"Use the silver weapons! We'll get further with them!" He calls out again before using the ice pick to chop the crippled wolf's head off. Kristoff raised his eyebrow then looks to the hatchet Mikael loaned to him before cleaving it into the wolf's head, making it jump up quickly with a thundering roar as it rips the burning axe out then throws it to the side.

* * *

He took a stance, his attention locked on the hatchet, but he didn't completely take his eyes off of the wolf just in case it tried to retaliate. The wolf rears back and charges towards him again, swiping at his head before he managed to duck, lunging towards the hatchet before rushing to his feet again.

The wolf turned around then charges again only for Kristoff to chop it's head off with the silver axe, it's body falling limp in front of him while it's head flies into the fjord. He nods contently before rushing towards Flynn, who was trying to fight off the other two without much success.

He swiped at each wolf with either weapon, trying to keep them at bay while they slowly corner him, the one on the right about to snap at his throat until Kristoff plunged his ice pick into it's head then pulling it back to decapitate it with the hatchet. Luckily, this managed to distract the one of the left long enough for Flynn to sink the dirk into it's heart, dragging it down to it's knees before uttering one last howl as the hatchet clips it's head off.

"Phew...I think I liked Mikael's friends better when they weren't over sized lap dogs." Flynn said with a worn out breath, Kristoff laughing lightly when he did. "Well, from what I've heard, they weren't much better then either." He said sarcastically, both of them laughing when he did.

Erik and Joric propped their weapons on their shoulders as they studied the decapitated bodies laying before them, each man nodding contently before scanning the area in front of them.

"Think they'll attack this side again?" Erik asks curiously before Joric shrugs his shoulders. "With Elsa and Mikael guarding the gates? Werewolf or not, I don't think I'd go against those two. Especially not together." He said calmly while the giant Russian plunges his battle-axe into another's head before ripping it out, splitting the beast's head like a melon then sending it's corpse tumbling into the fjord.

"True...but that could also mean that they'd most likely direct their full attention on them in an attempt to overwhelm them. These wolves, they seem to know tactical strategies that are common among guerrilla fighters. Whether this is the queen's territory or not, this is still their hunting grounds." He stated simply, Joric nodding in agreement.

"Interesting point..." He said under his breath, looking towards the courtyard. "Which means we should probably join them." He suggested calmly, Erik nodding lightly. "You go...I'll keep an eye on things here..." He said, making Joric study him curiously.

"Are you sure about that?" He raised his eyebrow lightly before the man before him laughed. "I've fought monsters bigger than this, your highness. It'll take more than what they've been sending to bring me down." He said with an almost demented chuckle, making Joric reluctantly nod in agreement.

"Very well, then...good luck." He bows lightly before making his way to the courtyard, watching Erik grab a wolf by the throat then cleave a second in two with the giant battle-axe before slamming the first on the ground. "Godspeed friend!" He roared as he kicks the downed wolf in the head.

Anna paced across the throne room, window to window as she watched everyone fight off the monsters, a frantic look on her face the whole time and squeaking every time one got close enough to hit them, but sighing in relief when they managed to kill them in time. Harknir walks up behind her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

* * *

"Anna, you need to go sit down, you're going to hurt yourself." He said kindly, Anna simply ignoring him when she saw a werewolf lunging at her sister and almost tearing her to pieces until she impales it on a line of ice spikes. She let out a rather loud sigh when Elsa managed to retaliate in time then turns to her uncle.

"I know...I just don't...what if...?" She started quietly before he pulls her into a comforting embrace. "Elsa won't let them get to any of us...and I highly doubt Mikael's going to let them take her without a fight. They'll be fine..." He says in a reassuring tone as Anna buries her head in his chest.

Hans managed to slip out of the castle when nobody was looking and retrieved a dagger from the armory. He figured if he was going to kill Elsa, now would be the best time to do it. That is if the werewolves haven't beaten him to it and of course, he still had them and Mikael to worry about.

The wolf leading the attack had plunged it's claws into Mikael's chest and started slamming him against the wall outside the gate,the impact making him drop his sword and his blood boil as his eyes flash yellow and his claws and fangs start sprouting. He snarls irritably each time the wolf pummels him against the wall before sinking his claws into it's wrist then ripping a chunk out of it's arm.

The beast roared in pain then slings him into the gate while it tries to recover from the attack. "GAH!" He grunts when he hit the gate, his eyes going straight to Elsa who was keeping a few at bay with blizzards, ice walls and even knocking a few off their feet with ice blasts. However, he noticed one creeping up behind her then looks around for Cedric and Talia to find that they had their hands full with their own group of wolves.

He looked back at the wolf he was fighting to see it stumble around and regain itself before reaching for his sword then turning his gaze back to Elsa, his eyes locked on the wolf behind her. He finds his mark and carefully slides the cutlass through the gate before slinging it through the back of the beast's head as it lunged at her.

Elsa heard the wolf yelp then drop behind her and quickly looked around to see a dead werewolf laying behind her, Mikael's sword sticking out of the back of it's head. She looks towards him about time the lead wolf charged at him then swiped him across the head and chest, making her cringe with each blow and resulting in three werewolves being frozen solid.

The wolf swipes at him again, but this time he deflects the blow then head-butts it again before slamming it against the wall and mercilessly bashing it with his bare hands when it grabs him by the head and forces him through the stone wall. Mikael sinks his claws into it's throat then forces it back with him as they crash and tumble into the courtyard.

Joric made it around to the courtyard about time they crashed through the wall and everyone,even the remaining wolves watched as this "mortal" wrestles with the wolf that simply lashed at him, blood flying everywhere with each hit until Mikael sinks his claws further into it's throat then throws it off of him.

He stumbles to his feet, otherwise un-phased by the assault and locks eyes with the beast again as it rushed to it's feet. Mikael took a defensive stance in between the wolves and his allies as they snarl at each other, his opponent charging again and swiping at his head until he punched it in the sternum with an inhuman strength then roundhouse kicked it, making it stagger before catching him by his leg then slamming him to the ground.

Elsa whimpered lightly when he hit the ground, but apparently it didn't effect him considering he kicked his leg to the side and slings the beast off of him, it's claws cutting into his ankle when he did. "Grrr..." He growled when he felt them cut into his flesh, but he wasn't going to let it stop him.

The wolf jumped to it's feet while Mikael starts getting up, only for the beast to charge at him on all fours and tackle him, both of them rolling across the ground as they mercilessly pelted each other and neither of them showing signs of slowing down or tiring.

* * *

All anyone could really do was watch, as much as they wanted to step in and help, their nerves wouldn't let them. "There's no way he's human..." Talia said quietly as she watched the grudge match, shaking her head lightly while Elsa tried to go help him fight it off, but found herself paralyzed with fear and concern when snow started falling from the sky.

Talia, Cedric and Joric looked up when they noticed the white flakes dropping from the sky then looked to Elsa to see her trembling with her eyes locked on Mikael and the werewolf that was trying to rip him apart.

"Uh, your majesty..." Cedric called out to her, only to be answered by silence before going over to her and lightly shaking her in an attempt to snap her out of it. She didn't move or speak, almost like she was simply a living statue when they notice the wolf pin him against the wall before Mikael punches it in the side of the head then knees it in the stomach.

The wolf grunts quickly before slamming him against the wall again which gave Mikael a perfect opportunity to catch himself before he hits and kicks his feet into it's chest before forcing it backwards, wailing on it mercilessly when he pins it down as his vision started blurring and going red, letting him know his blood was taking over.

The wolf started getting dizzy from the consistent assault, but sinks it's claws into his back then slings him through a pillar and into the darkness before lunging towards him, a pained howl thundering from the darkness afterwards.

The wolves ,Elsa, Talia, Cedric and Joric looked between each other and the shadows in confusion before they saw the massive beast being shoved back into the open before falling to the ground, Mikael slamming his foot down on it's throat when it hits the ground then forces it down.

The beast grumbled before rolling over and throwing him off balance then swiping at him in mid-air, sending his limp body tumbling towards Elsa before he catches himself again then rushes the beast, meeting the beast in the middle as it charged him and wrestling with it before it snaps at him, causing him to sink his own fangs into the beast's throat.

It roars in pain before Mikael sinks his claws into it's back then whips his head around and uses that leverage to throw the wolf across the courtyard before it catches itself then lunges at him again.

He managed to catch it by the shoulders before it got to him, but slides backwards a bit when it landed before shoving it back, tearing flesh from it's shoulders when he did and baring his fangs when it starts circling him again, snarling angrily as it does.

By this time, everyone who had been guarding the castle had met up in the courtyard while Anna, Rapunzel and Harknir huddled by the window to watch the savage duel, their eyes wide and their mouths a-gate as they watched Mikael effortlessly fight the beast off and even manage to hurt it as much as he had despite being severely wounded himself.

He snarls lightly as he slowly starts circling the beast until it charges at him, making him rush towards it as they lunge at each other and start pelting each other again as they fall to the ground, blood flying from both of them when they landed a blow before the wolf slashed him across the stomach, which made him slam his foot into it's stomach then rips his claws down the side of it head and into it's neck, forcing it down on all fours when he did.

* * *

He was about to deal the killing blow before the wolf slashed it's claws up as it rises to it's hind legs again then bring the other set down on his head before sliding them through his ribs then throwing him behind it's back, getting ready to charge again as he struggles to get up,his heart racing and his bones cracking as his own bestial side tries to force it's way out.

"MIKAEL!" Elsa screamed as the wolf charged towards him, his eyes locking on it when he heard her voice and a low growl rumbling in his throat as he balls his fist as tightly as possible and waits for his moment.

When it was about hafway to him, the beast lunged, it's thundering roar echoing through Arendelle as it's claws aimed at his head and chest until...

Everything went quiet and the wolves flinched when their leader suddenly stopped in it's tracks,everyone else watching with terrified looks on their faces as the snow seemed to stop in mid-air. Elsa stared at the wolf with tears streaming from her eyes,fearing the worst as many of the villagers, accompanied by Anna, Harknir and Rapunzel stormed out of the castle and studied the scene quietly.

Anna joined Elsa and saw the tears in her eyes,hugging her tightly when she did until she noticed the beast's body go limp then drop to it's knees. "Elsa..." She pulls her sister's sleeve quickly, making her look up as Mikael rises from the ground, his fist lodged in the wolf's jaws and his knuckles barely poking out of the back of it's head.

He stood over the clearly dead werewolf, his at the moment golden eyes locked on it as he rips his fist from it's maw, watching the limp corpse fall at his feet before studying the area and trying to get a grip before he turned and added to the problem.

Elsa stared at him with a shocked look on her face as the remaining wolves circled around him, snarling lightly as they study him then the body at his feet while Mikael simply glares between them like he was warning them that this would be their fate if they didn't leave now.

One of the wolves started to lunge towards him until meeting his eyes then stops before looking to it's brethren,who were slowly backing away from him and retreating into the forest. Mikael started returning to normal as he started lightly limping towards Elsa who meets him in the middle, gently stroking his cheek when she got to him.

"You okay?" He asks her softly, noticing the shocked, terrified and concerned look in her eyes. "Are you...?" She asks quietly, making him nod a little. "Could be worse..." He shrugs lightly before she sighs in relief, wrapping her arms around him when she does.

He carefully hugs her, his muscles relaxing when he felt her embrace and his heart rate slowing until... "Lucia...?" One of the villagers had walked passed them and straight to the beast's body, which had returned to it's human form to reveal a now broken and mutilated young woman who barely looked a day over fourteen.

Mikael and Elsa turned around when they heard the woman's cries, Elsa's eyes widening again when she saw the body while Mikael starts slowly backing away, a mortified look on his face. "Lucia!" The woman screams as she cradles the girl's body, tears streaming from her eyes when she did.

"My daughter...my little girl!" She sobs, everyone lowering their heads in respect before Elsa noticed that Mikael disappeared. "Mikael...?" She called out with a somewhat shaky tone, only to be answered with silence. She sighed lightly and starts walking towards the crowd before Anna stops her.

* * *

"Where's..." She started before Anna interrupts. "He just ran into the castle...he looked mad." She answered simply, making Elsa hang her head lightly. "It's not his fault, he couldn't have known..." Anna said reassuringly before Elsa nods lightly.

"I know...but he's never going to let himself live it down. I need to talk to him." She said in a steady tone, Anna nodding lightly when she did. "I'm coming with you." She said calmly. "So am I..." Talia said as she emerged from the crowd.

"Thanks...just let me talk to him alone when we find him,though." Elsa said quietly, both of them nodding in agreement before they head inside. "Alright...everyone back to your homes...Cedric...let's clean this mess up." Harknir says quickly, the crowd slowly disbursing while the guards and what few helped fight the beast's off started cleaning up the bodes and piling them onto a wagon.

"Madam...would you like another moment to say goodbye?" He asked the woman who was still cradling her daughter's corpse, making her sniffle then look up at him. "I want a proper funeral...if you have to burn her, don't burn her with those monsters..." She requested in a shaky tone, Harknir nodding in response.

"Of course..." He said calmly before carefully taking the young girl's body and placing her in a wagon to the side, the woman going over to it before hanging her head. "Goodbye, Lucia...you've been the best daughter I could ask for..." She squeaked lightly. Harknir sighs lightly then leaves her to her mourning before looking around for Elsa only to find that she, Mikael,Anna and Talia had vanished...

* * *

** No sarcasm or witty banter on this one, I like to have never got it done for one thing and **

**I honestly can't think of anything right now. Dammit...**

**So, here's chapter 14. Obviously,werewolves decided to attack Arendelle, Mikael almost went haywire**

**and Elsa almost had a panic attack, so really ain't much else to say except hope y'all enjoyed it, keep your eyes open for **

**number 15 and see ya next time, my pretties...**

**Or whatever...**


	15. Chapter 15: Animality

"Mikael?" Elsa called out, her voice cracking considering she hasn't quite gotten over the shock that hit her while she was watching him get slung around earlier. "Mikael!" She calls out again. Anna and Talia followed close behind her and kept their eyes open for any sign of him.

"Damn...I can't imagine what's going through his head right now...that can't be easy to get over no matter how used to killing you are..." Talia said, shaking her head lightly when she starts thinking about how he could take so much and still be breathing. "Yeah...I wouldn't want to meet the person that could kill somebody that young and not be fazed by it..." Anna said in a sad tone, Elsa simply ignoring them as she frantically looks around for Mikael.

"Mikael...please...answer me." She whimpers lightly, Anna draping a comforting arm around her when she heard her cries. "Elsa...we'll find him...I promise." She said softly while Elsa wipes tears from her eyes. "I know...It's just..." She stops herself, Anna smiling lightly when she did. "Hey, you like him; you want to be there for him...there's nothing wrong with that." She says quickly.

"What if he won't let me...?" She asks quietly before Anna gives her a reassuring hug. "Try anyway...don't give up." She said simply, making Elsa smile lightly, but she still felt miserable, especially with her trying to figure out how everything could be going so perfectly until that one werewolf showed up.

"Mikael!" She called out again, almost breaking down when she did as tears just stream from her eyes without any signs of slowing down or stopping. "Poor thing...and they were having the perfect night too..." Talia said quietly, hanging her head a little as she follows them.

They saw something move in the shadows, which made Elsa's face light up hopefully when she looked towards the figure. "Mikael...?" She started until her hopeful expression turns to a frightened, angry and anxious look when Hans stepped out, a dagger in his right hand.

"No, I'm afraid your cutthroat boyfriend is still missing in action." He said with a cold smirk, Talia moving to their side. "Which means I have time to do this..." He grabs Anna by the arm and holds her to him, putting the dagger to her throat. "Anna!" Elsa rushed towards her sister until Hans tightened his grip on her sister's arm and moved the dagger closer to her throat.

"Don't try anything...or I'll kill her..." He said coldly, making Talia want to bash his face in and almost making Elsa lose it right then and there. "What do you want?!" She exclaimed, her voice riddled with so many different emotions that it's a miracle she hadn't exploded. "You know what I want..." He grimaced, Elsa's blood starting to boil and the throne room freezing over when he said that.

"I can't believe you...you have the nerve to try and murder me in my own kingdom, leave my sister for dead after making her fall for you just so you can become king...and now you have the audacity to take her hostage and demand that I choose between her and Arendelle?!" She scolded, a blizzard starting to form around them when she did.

Talia looked around as the snowstorm engulfs them while Elsa and Hans' insults echo through the throne room then shakes her head lightly. "Mikael...wherever you are and whatever brooding you're doing, you better snap out of it quick..." She said quietly before getting in between them.

* * *

Mikael had locked himself in one of the cells, having nearly torn it to pieces now while he tries to regain control of the wolf, but not being able to completely do so. "SHIT! FUCK! DAMN YOU! DAMN ALL OF YA!" He rants in his prison before bashing at the walls, leaving large cracks in them with every hit as his heart rate steadily rises and his blood burns mercilessly.

He slammed his fist into the iron door, leaving a massive dent in it when he heard a commotion coming from the throne room. From what he could make out, there were two women arguing with a lone man and a swift wind surrounding them.

After tuning his ears and his sense of smell through the blizzard, he determined that the two women were Elsa and Talia and the man was Hans of all people, who he learned was holding Anna hostage. He snarls furiously before balling his fists, his knuckles crackling when he did.

"The nerve of this mother fucker..." He growls before a sharp pain shoots through his chest, bringing him to his knees. "No, no! Not now!" He roared in pain as the change started to take him.

He struggles to his feet as his body started shifting and readjusting to support the monster under his skin until his arm twitched, making him lash out at the door and knock it off the hinges before he storms upstairs, his vision blurring and his eyes flashing gold as he did. "You just made the biggest fucking mistake of your life..." He snarls before crashing into the throne room.

No one really acknowledge the doors crashing open, the wind from Elsa's blizzards muffling the sound as she glares coldly at Hans. "No! You're going to let her go and go back to the Southern Isles! I'm not giving into you!" She snapped, Hans grimacing when she said that.

"Then say goodbye to your sister..." He said coldly before he tries to bring the dagger across her throat. "ANNA!" She screamed when he cut her sister's neck lightly only for a golden candle stick to fly between her and Talia and hit Hans square between the eyes, making him let Anna go.

She rushed towards Elsa and hugged her tightly while Hans tries to recover. "OW! What was that?!" He exclaims in a shocked tone, coaxing each of them to turn to the attacker, who turns out to be a highly pissed off Mikael.

"Mikael..." Elsa said softly, a light smile creeping across her lips when she saw him, which made the blizzard cease before he starts walking towards them, her smile fading when she saw the fury in his eyes.

Hans finally managed to recover only to find himself standing face to face with the last person he wanted to see right now. "You've got a lot of fucking nerve, boy...coming here just to kidnap Anna and use her as leverage to gain control of Arendelle...? I knew you were a fucking idiot and a coward, but this is low even for you..." He says coldly, Hans just glaring at him in the hopes of intimidating him.

"You're one to talk...you make a living off of killing and kidnapping people...how much blood's really on your hands, huh?" He retorts, Mikael simply shaking his head irritably while his instincts scream for him to rip the prince limb from limb. "The difference is I'll admit to being a monster quicker than anybody else. I ain't gonna hide my past from anybody, I've got enough blood on my hands all the souls on this earth couldn't pay the toll for my redemption. If that was even an option from the start..." He continues, his tone not changing in the slightest, but his body steadily trying to change.

"Then why does it matter if they die...?" Hans states coldly before Mikael grasps his throat, slowly starting to crush it as a low growl rumbles in his own. "Listen here, you arrogant pile of walrus shit...I used to get paid to dispose of pests like you, that was the only thing that helped me sleep at night even with all the actual innocent lives I've taken constantly haunting me and making me wish for death and never be able to meet such an honorable end..." He snarls, gripping his throat tighter when he did.

"Don't think for a fucking second that I won't kill you right here and you better thank whatever gods you worship that Elsa and Anna are even here, because they're the only thing keeping me from snapping your neck like a fucking twig right now..." He warned coldly while Hans desperately gasps for breath while they watched, shocked by the sudden flash of fury that just took him over.

* * *

Hans sneered when he heard the warning and coughed while Mikael's grip steadily got tighter. "Well...it looks like they'll be your end..." He choked out before plunging the dagger in his stomach then pulls it across.

"Argh!" He snarled when the blade attempts to split his belly, making him loosen his grip and giving Hans the opportunity to grab him by the throat and throw him to the side. "MIKAEL!" Elsa and Anna screamed when his limp body tumbled into the shadows as they rush over to him only for Hans to step in front of them, putting the bloody blade to Elsa's throat.

"Make another move and you join him..." He stated coldly, Talia slipping around him and going over to Mikael who looked like he was barely moving. She knelt down and tries to urge him up.

"Come on, killer. Get up." She urged as he rustles around in the dark, snarling lightly as he did and trying to recover from the wound splitting his stomach. "Come on! We just saw you get mauled by a fucking werewolf and walk away like you just got threw playing with a puppy, don't tell me that cut's gonna be what..." She started until a loud thud interrupts her, a set of claw tipped fingers scratching the floor beneath them without effort.

"Mikael?" She raised her eyebrow before following the clawed hand to the source, her eyes widening a bit when she met the golden spheres that replaced his usual silver ones, not to mention the gleaming daggers lining his mouth.

"Shit..." She shakes her head lightly when it hits her until he nudged her urgently, a desperate look in his otherwise savage eyes. "Get Elsa and Anna out of here...now." He snarled urgently before his body starts burning again, making him yelp in pain as his bones start crackling again.

She nods quickly and rushed over to them as he struggled in the dark, his body becoming more and more lupine by the minutes. Elsa's frightened eyes briefly looked to Mikael, not aware of the transformation considering he was still cloaked by the shadows, but content that he was still alive. "Now, what's it going to be, your majesty? Your kingdom or your lives?" Hans demanded before Talia stepped between them, a hasty look in her eyes.

"Um, Queen Elsa, Princess Anna...we need to go...right now." She said bluntly before Hans pulls her around to face him. "They're not going anywhere and you're not going to stop me from..." Talia snatched him forward then glares into his eyes.

"Look, buddy. We're going whether you like it or not...and I suggest you do the same thing within the next couple of minutes if you plan on keeping all of your limbs." She stated in a serious tone, Elsa and Anna studying her confused.

"Talia, what's going on?" Elsa asked in an urgent, worried tone. "Your boyfriend's having a breakdown..." She answered simply; confusing them more and making Hans shake his head impatiently.

"I don't care if he's turning into the Devil himself; no one's going anywh..." He started angrily until... "GAAAAHHHHH!" Mikael roars, his pained cries turning into snarls and growls and making everyone look towards him to see him rustling uncomfortably as the previously human figure turns into something else.

He wriggles, wrestles and struggles as his toes started growing claws, his feet turning to massive paws and his heels stretched and became more wolf like while his normally small to medium frame stretched and grew into something more monstrous and savage, even more so than the beasts that attacked Arendelle.

They watched in horror as Mikael tried to struggle to his feet only for another surge of adrenaline to force him back down and his body painfully reshaped itself into the demon he had been trying so hard to keep under his skin, even Hans was terrified when the transformation reached it's last steps.

"We need to get out of here..." Talia whispered to the sisters, both of them still watching in a mortified trance before reluctantly backing away from the scene when Mikael rose again, slamming his claws into the floor before pulling them down the wood and uttering a quick growl then pulling himself up to where he was on all fours, the nightmarish golden gems in his eyes being the only light in that area and they were fixed on Hans and a deep growl rumbling in his throat.

Hans, Elsa, Anna and Talia stared at Mikael before his long, bushy black tail swished into view then back into the dark as he turned to face the prince, crouching down on his hind legs when he noticed the dagger shimmer in the moonlight that illuminated most of the throne room.

He starts slowly rising to his full height, which was now well over seven feet with their eyes following him the whole time before stepping into the light, the six and a half inch black steel meat hooks decorating his fingertips lightly tapping against the pillar before the beast himself revealed his true form.

* * *

"Whoa..." Talia said in a dumbfound voice as they thoroughly study the monster that stood in Mikael's place, noting every detail from it's four and a half foot arm length, counting his long fingers and the bone chilling claws tipping them to his somewhat short, but distinguished snout and the gleaming white daggers lining his jaws, the nightmarish weapons clearly capable of shearing through even the strongest armor.

"Mikael...?" Elsa squeaks lightly as she watched him stare Hans down, making him back down until he found an opening. "Elsa!" Harknir, Rapunzel and Flynn rushed in, each of them stopping in their tracks when they saw the behemoth of a werewolf staring down at the ex-prince of the Southern Isles, baring it's fangs the whole time.

"No..." Harknir said under his breath while his daughter and son in law fearfully study the beast before they noticed Hans lunge forward, plunging the dagger into it's stomach then twisting the blade only for the beast to look down at him and snarl irritably, not even twitching when the "butter knife" pierced his flesh, which made an even more terrified look cross his face.

Harknir looks to the side to see Elsa and Anna studying the wolf in terror and Talia trying to urge them out of the room, her eyes locked on the two adversaries the whole time.

"We need to move...now." He urges as he pulls Rapunzel and Flynn behind him, their eyes still locked on the wolf before Hans flies across the room and crashed into a pillar, a loud roar filling their ears when he did and snapping the four young royals out of their trance.

Elsa shook her head lightly before she noticed her Uncle Harknir and her cousins rushing towards them. "Uncle Harknir?" She asks in a kind of dazed voice when they reached them. "We need to get out of here, now." He said urgently, the sisters nodding in agreement as they rush out of the room, Elsa looking back just before Mikael slides his claws between Han's ribs and slams him into the pillar again before flinging him through the castle doors like a rag doll.

"Elsa! Come on!" Anna called out, making her close the door leading to the corridors while the massive werewolf trots outside to retrieve his "play thing.".

The guards and the nobles had just finished piling the bestial corpses into the wagon when they heard the castle doors crash open, Hans crashing to the ground at his father's feet when they did, which made an angered and confused look cross his face as his son weakly struggles to his feet.

"Hans, what are you..." He started before being interrupted by a thundering roar that dragged everyone's eyes to the castle, terror filling each one of them when they saw the monstrous, pitch black wolf emerge from the throne room before simply pulling the dagger out and tossing it to the side, not missing a single stride.

"Kill it! Kill the monster!" The duke of Weselton cries, catching Mikael's attention as the duke's henchmen pulled their crossbows and aimed straight at him. He roars furiously before lunging past the king of the Southern Isles, snatching Hans up with him and slinging him into the duke before a bolt lands in his arm, making him glare at the two henchmen before trotting towards the one who shot him as he desperately tries to reload his crossbow while his companion fires another shot, which landed in his chest, but didn't go anywhere near deep enough to hit anything vital.

The man who shot first finally managed to lad another bolt into his weapon, but it was too late. Mikael sinks his claws into the man's chest and lifts him up off the ground before snapping down on his head and snatching it off, making it fly towards Hans and the downed duke and bounce between their heads with enough force to knock them out before spilling the second henchman's guts then tearing his heart out of his back and swallowing it.

He stood again and started making his way to Hans and the duke before Erik attempts to cleave the battle-axe through his neck before the shaft breaks against him, knocking him forward a bit before he turns to face the Russian, who stood just a little short of his shoulders and swipe at him, cutting into his chest and sending him backwards.

Erik laughed when he hit the ground then stood back up, running his fingers across the wound before looking to Mikael, who was fighting off Arendelle guards and even soldiers who accompanied the nobles. "Finally. One worth fighting." He said contently before rushing towards him again, howling like a mad man when he does.

The guards throw spears and fire arrows and crossbow bolts at him only for him to deflect the spears, cut the arrows just before they hit him and dodging the bolts, occasionally snatching guards out of the group and tearing them to pieces in retaliation before he felt steel barbed shafts piercing his wrists then being snatched backwards.

He roars in pain and turns to the source to find that two more men from Weselton were trying to pull him backwards with the aid of a pair of ballista before he uses the chains to snatch them out of place, sending the soldiers flying with them and slicing them in two when they got within reach and ripping the projectiles out of his arms and slinging them to each side of him, knocking the guards back and giving him enough time to leap onto the wall while the wounds on his wrists heal, the stone crackling from the impact of his landing.

He pulls himself the rest of the way up and crawls along the length of the wall, glaring at his attackers angrily as they continuously sling various projectiles at him before unleashing a roar that shook the entire castle, stunning everyone beneath him then lunging from the wall to the halfway point of the bridge leading into the forest then to the shore on the other side, carrying a chunk of the bridge with him before dropping it into the fjord during his flight then vanishing into the forest without a trace.

* * *

"How...when did he...?" Elsa stuttered quietly, still trying to figure out what she saw in the throne room. "I'm sure he had a good reason for not telling anybody..." Anna suggests hesitantly, Talia and Elsa looking at her. "Yeah, maybe. He probably knew how much it'd hurt you if you found out." She shrugs lightly, looking back at Elsa.

"Did any of you know...?" She asked with a quiet whimper, everyone else looking between each other. "I wasn't sure until tonight." Talia answers, causing Elsa to look at Anna and Kristoff, who shook their heads lightly before Harknir lightly places his hand on her shoulder.

"Elsa...there is a reason he didn't tell you...it's not my place to tell you, but he has a reason..." He said in a calm tone, making her look up at him with tears in her eyes.

"What if he won't tell me what that is...?" She whimpers lightly before her bed starts to freeze over. "He will...when he's ready. You know what it took for you to tell Anna why you locked her out all those years." He says, making her sniffle a bit before nodding lightly.

"Yeah, true..." She said quietly, her voice so pathetic it'd make even the most heartless killer shed a tear. "Still...being a werewolf...that's something I would have appreciated a little more warning about...and the fact he lied to me when..." She stops and buries her face in her hands again, yelping lightly when she did until Anna and Harknir give her a comforting hug.

Rapunzel looks to Flynn, who still had a puzzled look on his face and lightly nudged him. "Did you..." She started before he quickly shook his head. "I knew he wasn't the type of guy you'd wanna mess with, but I had no idea he was a werewolf..." He said, his voice kind of shaking from shock before they look back at Elsa, who was still crying her eyes out.

"What I wanna know is where the hell he went after his little disappearing act. Finding out he just killed a young girl that was barely fourteen would probably be enough stress to trigger a change." Talia said simply before Anna nods in agreement. "That and Hans attacking us then trying to cut him open..." She added kind of dully, making her nod a bit before she noticed Cedric at the door, an urgent look on his face.

"I think I can answer that...unless this is a bad time." He said calmly, making Elsa look up before lightly shaking her head. "No...it's okay..." She said with a sad tone before standing up. "Lead the way..." She said softly before the guard captain nods reluctantly. "As you wish..." He said calmly before leaving the room, Elsa following him with everyone else close behind them.

It wasn't long before they found themselves in the dungeons, Elsa looking around curiously when Cedric led them inside. "Why are we down here?" She asked calmly, Cedric shaking his head a bit.

"Apparently, Mikael locked himself in one of the cells before his rampage outside. He must have known he was about to turn and tried to lock himself up before it hit him..." He explains simply, making them all more curious.

"Do you know which one...?" Anna asks curiously, making him snicker lightly. "Oh yeah...kind of hard to miss..." He said wittily, making Elsa raise her eyebrow lightly.

"Well, which one is...?" She started before he motions to his left. "This one..." He said simply, their eyes following his finger and shocked looks crossing their faces when they saw the obliterated prison cell.

"Damn!" Talia exclaimed before Anna looks at the stone door frame curiously. "Where's the door?" She asked quickly before Cedric picks up half of it and shows it to them. "He split it in two when he couldn't hold it back..." He answers simply, making her jaw drop.

* * *

It was almost midnight before everyone got settled in considering everyone was still trying to recover from the recent werewolf attacks and Anna couldn't sleep for worrying about her sister, so she decided to go check on her.

She walks up to Elsa's door and raised her hand to knock, half expecting her to tell her to leave her alone before finally taking a quick breath and lightly knocking on the door.

"Elsa...?" She calls out hesitantly before the door lightly cracks open enough for her to come in. She walks through the crack before the door latched behind them, making her turn around to see Elsa wiping tears from her eyes.

She sighs lightly after seeing her sister's heartbroken expression and hugs her tightly, Elsa hugging back when she does and crying on her shoulder. "I wish I could say something to..." Anna starts before Elsa shakes her head lightly.

"It's okay...I just...I wish he would have told me, I know something like that isn't easy to talk about, but..." She said quietly, still whimpering a bit when she does.

"I'm sure he trusted you. He was probably trying to find the right time to tell you..." Anna says in a comforting tone, making her yelp lightly before burying her face in her shoulder.

"After all the time we spent alone? He had plenty of chances to tell me...I thought he..." She cries softly, Anna shaking her head quickly. "He does! Don't say that..." She said quickly, making Elsa look at her miserably.

"How...how do you know?" She chokes out sadly, making Anna smile lightly. "Do you remember yesterday when he said I invited him to sit in with the court?" She asks calmly before Elsa nods her head lightly.

"Well...Talia and I were trying to get him ready for the festival, you know, doing his hair and all that...anyway, we got a brush stuck in his hair and after the first time we tried to pull it out, he asked me if you knew where he was." She explains while Elsa wipes her eyes again.

"Really...?" She asks softly, Anna nodding her head lightly. "And not to mention that werewolf that was coming up behind you before he threw that sword through it's head..." She said softly, making Elsa sigh lightly before meeting her sister's eyes.

"I wonder why he went through so much trouble to keep it a secret...I mean, other than the fact Arendelle's apparently at war with his old clan who..." She says lightly before looking out the window, her eyes moving to the spot where Mikael disappeared.

"Maybe he'll tell us tomorrow...it's not like he can really keep it a secret anymore..." Anna shrugs lightly while Elsa stares at the presently silent forest. "Maybe..." She said quietly before rejoining her sister, a thundering howl pulling their gaze back to the window when they did.

Considering the tremors that shot through the room when they heard it, they presumed that it was Mikael's call, either to tell the world he's killed something or maybe trying to lure some of his old pack into a trap...

* * *

**Okay, I honestly didn't expect to be done with this one tonight, but here it is.**

**Secrets out, Hans got to experience life as a chew toy and well, you get the idea.**

**So, now that we've seen Elsa's reaction to Mikael's true nature, what do y'all think is gonna happen next? (I'd really like to know if y'all don't mind.)**

**Anyway, here's the next one a little earlier than expected, hectic incident, interesting insults and of course some major drama, can't forget the drama...glad everybody's still enjoying the story and stay tuned, I'll have another up before I even know it.**


	16. Chapter 16: Hunting the Hunter

Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Talia and Cedric, who had been waiting for them at the gate left out early to look for Mikael, hoping that he's changed back by now since it was sunrise. "Are we sure we wanna go looking for him right now? He was obviously pissed before Hans pulled that little stunt, I wouldn't think he'd be in a better mood right now." Cedric asked curiously, Anna shrugging in response.

"He's been trying to leave Arendelle since he got here. He might take this chance and do it...we need to at least know why..." She said calmly, making the guard captain raise his eyebrow.

"You think there's more to it...?" He inquires before she nods lightly. "Yeah. The night we met him, he had this look in his eyes, it was pretty much the same one he had last night, but I saw some kind of deep guilt in them that I'd assume he hasn't been able to completely live down..." She explains, making Cedric nod a bit.

"What's the catch?" He asks, making Anna cut her eyes to Elsa, who was staring out into the forest, deep in thought. She motions him to lean closer, which he obliges without question before she leans a little closer. "It got worse after he met Elsa...and despite how comfortable they had gotten with each other, I could still see it eating away at him..." She says quietly.

Cedric looked at her curiously, thinking about her response for a minute. "Hmm...that'd make sense, he's been damn protective around both of you since he got here too, maybe that guilt has something to do with it..." He says quietly, making Anna nod her head before Talia leans into the conversation.

"That wolf blood probably didn't hurt either..." She said quietly, making them look towards her. "We know he's been trying to protect Arendelle from these other werewolves and apparently himself on top of that, but the question is what made him go as far as he has to protect Elsa from him other than being a werewolf...?" She shrugs lightly before they nod lightly and each lean back in their seats.

Everything went quiet as the sleigh rushed across the bumpy ground beneath it until they heard a loud thud at the front of it, making Sven stop in his tracks. "OW! GOD DAMN SON OF A MOTHER FUCKER!" A voice shouted from the front of the sleigh, making their mouths drop until they notice a male figure pulling himself up the front with his other hand on his forehead, glaring at them irritably.

"Mercer..." Elsa says quietly when she recognized the dark haired, light skinned, hazel eyed man in front of them. He glares at Kristoff and nearly bashed him in the head. "Learn how to fucking drive, would ya?!" He snapped quickly, making Kristoff fumble with his words for a minute. "Who lays down in the middle of an obviously busy trail?!" He retorts.

"A mother fucker that's trying to get some damned sleep before his deranged, psychotic werewolf boss comes after him and rips him apart!" He snaps again. "Why would he do that?" Elsa asked him quickly, pulling his annoyed gaze to her.

"You tell me, your majesty. What exactly made your boyfriend go ape shit fucking berserk and lure half of the clan into a clearing before ambushing them and flinging pieces of them all over the place?" He asked sarcastically, making a shocked look form on their faces.

"Wait, you mean he...?" She started. "Don't give me that shit, he came from Arendelle, I saw him jump off the wall." He said bluntly, making her drop her head lightly. He raised his eyebrow curiously when he saw that.

"Oh, I get it. Ya got into a fight, didn't ya?" He asks curiously, making her look back up and shake her head. "No, he was..." She sighs lightly before continuing. "Someone had taken Anna hostage and demanded I give him control of Arendelle in exchange for her life. He was about to kill her when Mikael showed up..." She said calmly.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about that Southern Isles prick, would ya?" He asks dully before she nods lightly. "Hans..." She said dully, making Mercer start laughing with a mischievous, demented tone.

"Hehehehe...I hope he beat that slimy mother fucker to a bloody pulp..." He said as a twisted grin crossed his lips, making them each shiver lightly. "Well, he probably would have if a courtyard full of armed nobles and guards didn't go after him." Cedric said simply, making Mercer shake his head lightly.

"Don't tell me he ate all your visiting nobles..." He said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, making Cedric raise his eyebrow. "Umm...no, no nobles that I know of, but he did tear a lot of soldiers to pieces before he left." He answered before Mercer shrugs a bit.

"He should have at least whacked Hans, that boot crazy duke and that overgrown brat, Sebastian before he left, though. Let the people who actually have some sense breathe that air they're wasting." He said simply, Talia shaking her head when he does.

"If killing those soldiers doesn't make at least one of these provinces declare war on Arendelle, him killing a noble sure as hell would." She said bluntly, making him shake his head a bit.

* * *

"Trust me; I don't think anybody would miss them if they got mauled by an overgrown lapdog. I think a good few people were considering pushing them off into the fjord." He chuckles lightly before raising his eyebrow. "If those sore heads wage war on Arendelle just because a werewolf, that nobody can prove whether or not it's who they think it is, then they're a lot dumber than I thought." He said bluntly, making Talia raise her eyebrow curiously.

"And if they find out who he is...?" She asked curiously before he shakes his head again. "Still stupid. Technically, he doesn't live in Arendelle or anywhere for that matter. It'd be more of a case left to Arendelle guards...if that witch hunting son of a bitch from Weaseltown doesn't take over the city while you're gone and put a bounty on y'all's heads." He answered before Elsa lightly cleared her throat.

"We'll worry about that later...besides, uncle Harknir's keeping an eye on things until we get back." She says quickly before turning her attention to Mercer. "Can you take us to the last place you saw him?" She asks before hearing that demented laugh again then noticing him shake his head.

"You don't wanna go to that clearing...not unless ya have a strong stomach...I can take ya to the blood trail outside of the clearing, though." He answered, still laughing a bit when he does.

"Well...it's a start, anyway." She said contently, making Mercer study her a bit. "You still like that crazy mother fucker after all that shit...?" He asked in a calm, but kind of shocked tone before she nods her head lightly.

He shakes his head s little. "Well, congratulations, your majesty...you're crazier than a fucking werewolf..." He said bluntly before boarding the sleigh, sitting at the front so he could give Kristoff directions. "You throw my ass off; I'm taking a fucking leg." He states quickly, making the massive mountain man shake his head before snapping the reins, Sven charging forward when he did.

"So...how exactly did you meet Mikael...?" Anna asks Mercer curiously, making him shake his head. "To make a long, fucked up story short, I had to shoot his ass after he ripped one of the other clan members to pieces." He answers, making Anna's eyes widen.

"Wow...what exactly happened?" She asks, making him slit his eyes a little before looking to the side. "Left!" He called out, making Kristoff coax Sven to the left. "The prick was trying to get with Selena and it pissed Mikael off..." He said as he turns his attention back to Anna.

"Who's Selena?" She asked quickly. "Mikael's adopted mother..." He answered, making her raise her eyebrow lightly. "You shot him because he was...?!" She started before he slits his eyes again.

"Don't start that shit, the asshole that was messing with her had it coming anyway. I was just following orders." He said quickly. "That's when Robert learned about the raw power of a werewolf...then became obsessed with it." He said bluntly, making Elsa look at them quickly.

"Are you saying...?" She starts before Mercer looks at her. "Yeah. Robert and the entire clan got their power from Mikael...not that he was really given much of a chance to refuse..." He grumbled at the end, making everyone look between each other before...

"Right!" Mercer shouts, his eyes still on Elsa as the sleigh slides right. "Why did he do it?" She asks lightly. "Because Robert was going to burn her alive if he didn't and make him watch the whole fucking thing..." He answers dully, their eyes dropping when they heard his response.

"Was that when he left?" She asked calmly before he shakes his head again. "No, this was about two years before that nightmare..." He answered calmly. "Left!" He calls out again before Elsa, Anna and Talia study him closely.

"How much damage did he do that night?" Talia asked bluntly, Mercer grinning a bit when she did. "He ripped Robert's arm off after dismembering some of the clan that were trying to hold him down." He answers, Elsa's mouth dropping when he did.

"He ripped his arm off?" She asks lightly, Mercer nodding in response. "Yeah...should have been his head, though, that damn arm grew back after two days..." He grumbled a bit, but they could still hear him. "Robert's really that bad?" Anna asks calmly, almost making him burst out laughing.

"You're fucking kidding, right?" He asked sarcastically before noticing the confused look in her eyes. His expression straightened out and he rolled his eyes a bit. "Why ain't I surprised?" He said under his breath before looking at her again.

"We're talking about a man who would cut a little kid's feet off and watch him crawl for miles until the poor little shit bled to death just for entertainment...and that was before he turned into a werewolf, he's worse now." He said, a mortified look forming on their faces and none of them able to even speak the thought was so sickening.

Mercer turns his attention back up front before smelling the blood from Mikael's massacre. "Big man, hard left up here." He said quickly, pointing to a deep curve about five feet in front of them.

* * *

Kristoff looks up and pulls the reins to the left, nearly tipping the sleigh over when they rounded the curve which made Mercer sink his claws into the side to keep from falling off.

"You're a dick..." He glares at Kristoff before he saw the distinct trail of blood leading away from the clearing that was about five miles from their location. "Stop!" He snapped when they reach it, making Kristoff pull back on the reins before Sven stops in his track.

Mercer jumps off and runs his fingers through the blood before sniffing it, turning his attention to the north mountain when he got the scent. "He went north, most likely towards the mountain." He said calmly, making Elsa follow his gaze.

"I know where he is..." She said lightly, Mercer looking towards her curiously. "Well, I guess we better get going..." He said simply before getting back on the sleigh. "Alright, blondie, follow the blood." He said before Kristoff snaps the reins again, turning towards the north mountain.

He looks back to Elsa when the sleigh takes off before she met his eyes. "Ya said ya know where he is...what's at that mountain?" He asked simply, watching her look down a bit before answering him.

"A sanctuary..." She says softly, everyone else realizing what she was talking about when she said it. Mercer raised his eyebrow curiously after noticing the look on their faces. "What kind of sanctuary...?" He asked.

"You'll see..." She said calmly before he shrugs then turns his attention back to the front. "That's informative..." He grumbled before nudging Kristoff. "She always that cryptic?" He asked, making him shrug his shoulders.

"She is when it comes to people who have a bad attitude..." Kristoff says simply with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, which made Mercer slit his eyes a bit before nodding lightly. "Well, I'll give ya that one..." He said calmly before leaning back and propping his feet on the front of the sleigh, which made Kristoff try to push them off until he snatched his hand away from his legs.

"You touch me again, I'm taking fingers..." He warned bluntly, making Kristoff reluctantly pull his hand back before the marauder put his back behind his head. Anna looked at Mercer curiously after his little warning and lightly taps his shoulder.

"Whatcha need, half pint?" He asked before turning his gaze to her. "How did you..." She started, not really sure how exactly to ask without offending him. "Same as all the other thieves and beggars...hit a rough patch, had to scavenge through trash just to eat...then Robert shows up, offers me a fortune to do some...questionable work and here I am, covered in fleas and have a never-ending case of the munchies...but, I'll be damned if I'm goin back..." He answered, everyone thinking on what he just said.

"And...Mikael...?" She asks hesitantly. "That's for him to tell ya...if he even remembers the whole thing..." He says simply, making Elsa study him again. "How old was he...?" She asks, Mercer meeting her gaze when she does.

"Let's just say he's the youngest recruit we had..." He answers before looking at the sky, the sun blinding him when he did and making his eyes shoot back down. "Damn! Still ain't used to that..." He grumbled when they start coming up on a trail that lead straight up the mountain.

"We're almost there." Kristoff said quickly, cutting his eyes to Mercer who was sniffing the air. "Yep, he's here alright..." He said calmly. "Is he...?" Elsa asks before he shakes his head.

"Nah, he's changed back. Don't know if he's awake yet, though." He said as they rounded the corner, his eyes widening when he saw the ice castle on the other side. "Daaaaamn..." He says simply while his eyes scan the structure.

They stop a few feet from the bridge leading inside, which still had blood dripping down the steps when Elsa noticed Marshmallow looking at the open door leading inside, blood traced claw marks covering his body.

She steps down from the sleigh and approaches Marshmallow, who looks down at her when she was close enough. "Are you alright?" She asked quickly, the massive snowman nodding his head in response.

"I'm fine, snow queen. The wolf that came with you last time attacked me before retreating into your castle." He answered calmly, Elsa's eyes looking to the door then back at Marshmallow.

"Has he come out...?" She asks before he shakes his head. "No, not since last night." He answered, making her nod lightly before reluctantly moving towards the bridge, Anna rushing up behind her.

"I'm not letting you go in there alone..." She says quickly when she reached her sister. Elsa was about to tell her to go wait with the others before she noticed the steadfast look in her eyes, letting her know that she wasn't going to be able to talk her out of it.

"Thanks..." She smiles lightly before they cross the bridge, Talia rushing up behind them. "You sure about that...?" She asked them calmly before Elsa turns to face her, nodding her head lightly. "I'd rather not startle him..." She says calmly, Talia nodding in understanding.

* * *

"Good point..." She said before pointing to Mercer. "What about him...?" She asks, Elsa and Anna looking towards him. "If he tries to stab us in the back...shoot him." She said simply, making the young werewolf hunter nod in understanding.

"Okay...just be careful." She said calmly before going back to the sleigh as Elsa and Anna continue up the bridge and into the ice castle, looking for any signs of Mikael the moment they walk through the door.

They noticed a pair of bloody footprints decorating the icy floor that looked like they were leading upstairs to the balcony, but considering their lupine shape, it could easily mean that he was long gone, most likely leaping from the balcony to make his escape.

"Come on..." Elsa says quietly, her and Anna following the tracks upstairs until they noticed them leading to the darker areas of the castle, but there wasn't any sign of Mikael himself.

"Mikael!" They called out, only to be answered with silence while their eyes frantically search the room for him. Elsa sighed lightly before turning to Anna. "You look over there, I'll check here." She said calmly, motioning to the other side of the room before Anna nods lightly.

"Okay." She said before they split up and explore the room, the shadows in particular. So far, neither of them had any luck finding him and Elsa was starting to think that he might have seen them coming and decided to run just in case the wolf took him over again.

Anna peeks around every possible corner, frowning lightly when she couldn't find anything until she noticed a familiar pair of silver eyes shimmering on the far side of the room.

She tried to keep calm so she wouldn't startle him and quickly motions for her sister. "Elsa!" She calls out quietly, making her turn towards her until she noticed her urgent expression.

When she reached Anna, she follows her gaze and noticed the shimmering gems staring at them through the darkness that engulfed him. "Mikael...?" She starts slowly walking towards him before he backs up in the corner.

"Mikael, it's okay...we're not going to hurt you..." She says softly, noticing his eyes drop when she did. "But, I might hurt you...I can't let it happen..." He says calmly, making her sigh lightly, but she didn't stop until she reached him.

"How did you find me...?" He asks lightly, their eyes locking when he noticed her standing right outside his hiding place. "We...ran into Mercer and he led us to you..." She answers softly before he rolled his eyes lightly.

"Figures..." He grumbled a bit before looking back at her. "You shouldn't have tracked me down...and I shouldn't have stayed in Arendelle this long, I knew this was going to happen..." He said dully before he noticed Elsa shaking her head.

"It's not your fault..." She says lightly. "Bullshit...I cornered them here, drove him to start "recruiting" your people into his pack...and now, the fucking blue bloods are probably gonna demand both of our heads on a spike or declare war on Arendelle..." He says in an ashamed tone, making her look down a bit.

"No...the only other person that saw you change was Hans and after the beating you gave him last night, I don't think he'd tell anybody." She says in a reassuring tone, making him study her curiously.

"Don't tell me I killed him...soldiers are one thing, but if I killed a prince and they find out..." She stops him before he could finish, a comforting look in her eyes. "He's still alive...he'll be lucky if he wakes up today, though." She says softly before noticing the tortured look in his eyes.

"Please come out...?" She says gently, making him shake his head lightly. "I can't..." He says calmly, making her frown lightly. "Why? You're human right now and...I know you better than that; you're not going to hurt us..." She said calmly as he backs up a little more.

"I've never been human...besides, when you turn into a werewolf; you have to...leave a few things behind." He said, making her blush when she realized what he was talking about.

"Anna...would you mind getting him something to cover up with...?" She asks as she turned towards her sister, who nods a bit. "Sure...I'll be right back." She said calmly before leaving the room. After Anna left, she turns her attention back to Mikael and studies his silhouette with a concerned look in her eyes.

"I owe you answers...a lot of them...ask away." He says dully before she steps a little closer then takes a light breath. "Did you ever plan on telling me...?" She asks softly, making him nod lightly.

* * *

"Last night, before the attack..." He answers calmly. She looks down when he answered, remembering the young girl's mutilated body before looking back at him. "How long have you...?" She hesitates for a minute, not really sure how to ask him that.

"I was born with it..." He said, her curiosity growing when he did. "When did you find out...?" She asks lightly, making him shrug a bit. "I guess, I always knew...since I could crawl, I kept hearing this call that I couldn't quite figure out what it was and it drove me mad because at the time, I was the only one that could hear it." He explains calmly before hanging his head. "I learned exactly what it was when I was three, after I woke up next to a mutilated flock of sheep." He adds.

"Why wait until last night to tell me...?" She asked softly, almost making him breakdown crying when she did, he expected her to ask him that, but he honestly wasn't sure how to answer.

"I can't answer that...I'm sorry, but...I just...I'm sorry..." He said quietly, tears forming in his eyes when he did before she sighs lightly. "Why...?" She asks gently, making him look at her again. "The same reason I was trying to bypass Arendelle in the first place..." He says in a pathetic tone.

"To protect me..." She said to herself before meeting his eyes. "Why go through so much trouble to protect me from yourself...? Werewolf or not?" She asks in a kind of quick tone.

"Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt you...again." He says even though she couldn't hear the last part. Her head drops a bit when she heard his answer and she started to move a little closer to him when she noticed Anna standing behind her, a blanket draped over her shoulder.

"This was all I could find..." She said calmly before Elsa nods contently. "It'll do..." She said before taking the blanket and passing it to Mikael. "Thanks..." He said dully before taking the blanket and draping it around him, tying it in different places so it wouldn't fly open before he noticed Elsa offering him her hand.

He hesitates for a minute before reluctantly lacing his at the moment bloodied fingers with hers then stepping into the light, revealing the sheet of crimson that covered his otherwise pale skin, the light streams of crimson dripping from his lips and his wild, savage hair which had a few twigs tangled up in it..

"That explains why that brush kept getting stuck in it..." Anna said calmly as they studied him, not really sure how to respond. He shrugged lightly. "I've looked worse...trust me." He says calmly before Elsa pulls a couple of twigs out of his hair.

"You've probably had rougher nights, too." She said softly, making him nod lightly. "Definitely up there..." He said before he felt her lightly tug him forward. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She said sweetly, making his head drop a bit.

"I can't stay, Elsa...I proved that last night." He says dully, making her and Anna frown lightly. "Mikael...accidents happen. Would you have changed if Hans didn't try to kill us?" She said gently. "I'm always at risk of turning...and when I turn, people die..." He said, making her sigh a bit.

"There's more to it than that, I see it in your eyes...will you at least tell me why...?" She says in a soft, kind of hurt tone before he went silent again. Anna studied them for a minute, noticing Elsa's head drop when he doesn't answer before she lightly tapped her shoulder.

"We could take him to see Grand Pabbie..." She suggests quietly without acknowledging the fact Mikael would be able to hear her. He would have asked who they were talking about, but he decided against it.

Elsa nods lightly before looking back at him. "There's someone I want you to meet...he might be able to help you tell me." She says softly, making him look between them for a minute.

"If you want to, anyway..." She says before he reluctantly nods. "Okay..." He says lightly, making her smile a bit before they went downstairs. "By the way...I'm sorry about attacking Marshmallow...instincts get the best of me sometimes." He said, making her shake her head lightly.

"It's okay. He didn't seem too bothered by it." She says softly when they reach the bottom of the stairs. "So, that first outfit Rapunzel and I got you to try on...was it really that itchy or...?" Anna started before Mikael shakes his head.

"No, it was really that damn itchy...made the fleas feel like a vacation." He said simply, which made her giggle lightly. He chuckled a bit, even if he wasn't too amused by the comment himself.

* * *

They went back outside, everyone near the sleigh looking at them when they heard it open and each of them studying Mikael curiously when they saw his condition, a surprised look crossing almost everyone's faces.

"Told ya he went on a fucking rampage last night..." Mercer said simply, Kristoff looking at him when he did. "Yeah, a rampage. You didn't say anything about him bathing in blood." He said before noticing the marauder shrug.

"Ain't much of a difference when you're a werewolf, especially a piss drunk mad werewolf." He said bluntly, making Kristoff shake his head lightly, turning his attention back to the ice castle.

Marshmallow looks down at the trio as they step from the bridge, his attention turning to Mikael before lightly nodding his head. "Good match, black wolf." He said simply, Mikael nodding his head in return. "Likewise." He said calmly as they walked off, Marshmallow taking his place by the bridge and turning into a boulder when they reached the sleigh.

Mikael and Mercer locked eyes, each of them looking like they'd want to rip the others throat out. "Mercer..." He said simply, the latter nodding his head a bit. "Mikael..." He said, both of them growing quiet when he did. Mikael looked like he was about to say something else until... "They ran over me then talked me into bringing them here..." Mercer grumbled a bit, making him shake his head a bit.

"I don't think they hit you hard enough..." He said calmly, making Mercer roll his eyes. "Or you could shoot me in the fucking knee again." He said sarcastically, Elsa and Anna looking between them before they board the sleigh, Mikael kind of huddling up in a corner when he did.

Elsa looks at him when he found his spot then sits down next to him, lightly stroking his cheek when she did without acknowledging the blood covering it. "Back to Arendelle?" Kristoff asks curiously before Anna shakes her head.

"Not yet. We have a little side stop to make." She says calmly, making him raise his eyebrow before looking back at Mikael and Elsa, shrugging lightly when it hits him. "Okay, then..." He said reluctantly before snapping the reins, Sven rushing forward before he felt Kristoff tugging them to the path he and Anna took to the valley of living rock...

* * *

**Well, that's it...story's over...**

**HA! Yeah, okay, like I'm really gonna end it there, I like leaving cliffhangers, but ending a story like that's**

**ridiculous. Anyway, kind of heartwarming and decently revealing chapter, but I expect the next one to be better, pretty important chapter**

**and Elsa just might learn why exactly Mikael went to the lengths he did to keep from hurting her.**

**Of course, y'all already know the answer to that, so we'll just have to see how our friends from Arendelle react**

**when they find out, won't we?**

**Well, see y'all next time; thank y'all for y'all's dedication and all that good shit...till next time.**


	17. Chapter 17: A Wilderness of Horrors

"Is there somewhere we can stop real quick so I can clean up?" Mikael asked in a kind of uncomfortable tone. "Don't know, we had more important things to worry about at the time." Kristoff said, kind of making him roll his eyes. "Damn..." He said quietly, making Anna and Elsa study him. "What's wrong?" Elsa asks calmly.

"This smell's driving me nuts..." He said in a somewhat irritated tone. "What, the blood?" She asks before she noticed him nodding his head. "Yeah." He said quickly. "You were a cutthroat for a while; you should be used to it..." Cedric suggests calmly, making Mercer kind of glare at him.

"Well, that's the thing. It's more like...it's making me hungry. Blood to a werewolf is a lot like what drugs are to humans." Mikael explains, everyone's attention mostly on him now.

"What exactly is it like...being a werewolf?" Anna asked curiously, Elsa, Talia, Kristoff and Mercer cringing when she did, but apparently it didn't bother him. "Well, that's tough to describe accurately, it's different depending on who you are and how strong you are." He answers calmly, making her curiosity grow.

"What's it like for you...?" She asked before he readjusted himself a little bit, doing his best not to disturb Elsa then leans back a bit. "Hmm...I ain't gonna lie, the power's addicting, being able to take on a form that has the strength of an army, that's as fast as the winds in a blizzard and on top of it, the guile, agility and instincts of a predator." He explains, Elsa and Anna's eyes widening in intrigue when he described the experience.

"But, there's a catch, like most any form of power." He adds, the two sisters waiting patiently for him to finish. He almost cracked a smile when he saw how interested they were in his "talent". "To save ya the completely gut wrenching details, not only do you gain the power and agility of an animal, you have an almost insatiable hunger that'll drive you insane if you simply ignore it, or overindulge it...and when you turn, you're not completely in your normal state of mind, you can think, defend yourself or somebody else should they need it or make a quick retreat if you have to, but that primal instinct's always there, in either form." He continues.

"So, for example say someone made you mad..." Anna inquires calmly. "It'd increase my chances of turning...especially at night and almost always during a full moon." He answered, making her nod lightly. "That explains last night..." She said simply.

"How bad is the...hunger you were talking about...?" Elsa asked hesitantly, his eyes cutting to her for a moment before he answered. "It almost hurts just being around y'all, despite how comfortable I've gotten around you, being able to hear your heartbeat, smell your blood pumping and even sense feelings whether I could describe them myself or not, makes it grow...sometimes to a point where the wolf will try to claw it's way out and usually..." He answers before Elsa remembers the times he's dropped to his knees and even zoned out.

"Drags you down..." She finished quietly before he nods his head in confirmation. "Right..." He said simply, making her eyes drop a little. "Have you...ever done anything as the wolf that you..." She hesitated before she noticed him hang his head lightly.

"Some things more than others..." He answers, everyone except Mercer looking between each other and Mikael curiously. "Sorry..." He said quietly, making Elsa shake her head lightly, letting him know he didn't do anything wrong.

She noticed his eyes flashing gold, presumably from the blood smell covering him and she pulls a small white cloth out of her sleeve then lightly wiping his face as best she could without just smearing it all over him.

His eyes cut over to her before flashing back to normal. "Thanks..." He says lightly, making her smile a bit. "Don't mention it..." She said gently before she ends up leaning against him as they rounded a hard curve.

It wasn't much longer before they made it to the valley, with Grand Pabbie waiting on them. Mikael studied the troll curiously while the sleigh comes to a stop and noticed his eyes scanning him.

"Come on." Elsa urges softly as they leave the sleigh and approach him. "Queen Elsa." Pabbie bows respectfully before turning his gaze back to Mikael, frowning when he saw the demons swimming in his eyes.

"You've had a dark, tortured existence..." He said quietly before looking to Elsa. "Are you sure you want to know?" He asked before she nods her head hesitantly. "You won't like what you see..." He warns simply, making her look down a bit.

"I want to help him if I can." She says softly, making the troll nod lightly before looking back at Mikael. "I need you to clear your mind. If your other side senses any intrusion into the mind of it's host, it will retaliate." He said before he nods in understanding.

He took a few steady breaths before lowering his head a little. "Okay, do it." He said calmly, making Pabbie nod in confirmation before turning to Elsa. "What exactly do you want to know?" He asks.

She thought about that for a minute, there were a good few things she wanted to know about his past, but she didn't want to make him mad by digging too deep in his mind. Chances were, he wasn't very comfortable with this in the first place.

* * *

"What happened that made him want to be alone?" She asks lightly, not really sure how else to word the question. Pabbie nods at her response before reaching into Mikael's mind, everyone watching intently as the vision manifests before them:

_"We can't let him find that little girl..." A young, dark haired woman said, her sapphire eyes studying the silver eyed little boy across from her._

_"What exactly's so special about her, Selena? Ain't all blue blood's the same?" The little boy shrugs lightly before the young woman he identified as Selena gave him an impatient look._

_"No, she's a sweet little girl, both of them are." She said, making the boy raise his eyebrow lightly. "Then why would Robert be interested in taking her alive?" He asked._

_"Because she's kind of like you...she was born with powers." She answered. The boy studied her curiously when he heard her answer then lightly shakes his head._

_"Then we don't need to make things worse by dabbling in her life." He said dully before Selena shakes her head. "Mikael, I hate when you do that...look, I know you've had some mishaps, but you know she won't make it if he gets his hands on her." She said calmly, making him sigh lightly._

_"It's too risky. I feel the call getting stronger everyday...I can't. You do what you have to, but I ain't gonna risk killing a little girl." He said simply, making her sigh lightly._

_"Look, I know it ain't easy living with that, but you know I can't face Robert on my own when he attacks Arendelle. You're his forebear, not only that, but you're the most experienced of the pack." She says bluntly, making him chuckle lightly._

_"And by default, I'm the only one who would be able to kill him...all because I just so happened to be born a bloodthirsty hell hound." He said dully, making the young witch slit her eyes a bit._

_"You know better than that, Mikael. When have I ever used you?" She scolded, making his blood burn a little, but he fought it back. "Fine, let's go to Arendelle. Dammit." He grumbled a bit, making her smile contently._

_"Thank you." She said lightly, making him shake his head. "You know we ain't gonna be able to come back when this is over, right? And I highly doubt the king will be too keen on us staying after they find out what we are, whether we save his city from a psychotic pack of werewolf marauders or not." He points out dully._

_"We'll worry about that later." She said simply, making him roll his eyes a bit. "I knew you were gonna say that..." He grumbles before they pack their things and leave the camp..._

"Hmm...whatcha think so far?" Talia whispers quietly so she wouldn't break Pabbie or Mikael's concentration, making everyone else shrug lightly. "Robert was going to invade Arendelle in an attempt to either kill or kidnap snowflake here. When Selena found out, she told me she was taking Mikael and leaving. Never knew exactly why Robert was so interested in the place till now..." Mercer said quietly, making them raise their eyebrows curiously. Save for Elsa whose attention was locked on the vision.

It distorts and flickers for a moment before resuming at a later time that night:

_Robert had learned about their "treason" and cornered them in a small shack that would most likely be a ruin now and capturing them, his fingers around Selena's throat while four; maybe five of his lackeys restrained Mikael._

_"I had honestly hoped you both knew better than to betray me...especially after all I've given you." Robert said in a simple tone, making Mikael glare at him._

_"Given?! You take people from their families and make them fight for scraps if they're lucky enough to survive your sick sense of humor!" He snapped coldly, making the animalistic man grimace._

_"Oh come now, Mikael. Don't tell me Selena's been trying to make you soft..." He said with a light growl, his black eyes moving to the witch in his grasp._

_"Maybe watching her pay for your weakness will teach you a lesson, huh?" He suggests coldly, making Mikael thrash violently and almost sling his men through the walls._

_"You get the fuck away from her right now or...Gah!" He snarled before one of the men holding him down punched him in the stomach. "I need some form of compensation since you two attempted to steal my prize..." Robert grimaced before forcing himself on Selena, who started struggling when he pinned her down._

_"NO! Get away from her!" He roared as his blood sears in his veins, his silver eyes flashing gold when he saw his closest friend being violated by the monster he helped create._

_The men felt his body changing in their arms, but before they could do anything he was already flinging them around the room, sending one into the fireplace and making the man rush out of the blaze and ignite the shack before dying._

_Robert and Selena looked up to see the at the time smaller black werewolf tearing the men to pieces, making the warlord roll his eyes irritably before tearing the young woman's heart out, her dying yelp dragging the beast's attention to them, an infuriated scowl forming on his face when he saw the man holding her heart._

_Someone tried to rush him from the side, but he cut them down before unleashing a heart stopping roar before lunging at Robert and pinning him to the floor._

_Robert struggled in the beast's grasp for a minute until..."AAARRRGGGHH!" He roared when Mikael tears his arm out of it's socket then rises to his hind legs, dragging his enemy up with him before snapping the arm in two across his head then slashing up his chest, sending him flying into a set of antlers that were mounted on the wall before leaping through the wall of the burning structure..._

Mikael quickly swiped his hand through the vision, his sudden move catching everybody by surprise and turning their attention to him. "That's enough..." He said quickly, Elsa placing a gentle hand on his shoulder before the vision appears again.

"That's enough!" Mikael snapped quickly before he noticed the confused look on Pabbie's face. "I'm not..." He started, everyone's attention moving to this new vision, completely unaware of the source.

"Dammit, Mikael. I ain't gonna let you torture yourself because of an accident that she can more than relate to...she deserves to know." Elsa heard a young woman's voice beside her, but when she turned to look, there wasn't anybody there.

She raised her eyebrow before presuming she was hearing things and looking back at the vision when it started clearing up.

* * *

_The once again orphaned pup wanders through the moonlit forests outside Arendelle, an unholy hunger nagging at him as the scent of every single creature_

_both in the forest and within the city attacked his senses, the raw, unrestrained fury he felt when he turned focusing his attention on the taste of blood._

_His head shot up when he picked up a rather distinct scent that made his stomach grumble more, craving whatever the source was the more he sniffed the air._

_He snarls lightly before following the scent, sprinting on all fours and whizzing by the trees in a blur until he eventually came to a clearing surrounded by hedges, trees and brush._

_He crouched down in the brush and lightly nudges his snout through it before he noticed a little girl with platinum blonde hair sitting in the middle of the clearing with her face buried in her hands as she cries lightly._

_He snarls lightly when he smells her emotions, fear, guilt, loneliness, misery and it was making him crave her blood the worse she felt until he stepped forward a bit, making a twig snap under one of his paws._

_The little girl's ice blue eyes shot up, meeting his savage golden ones before she stands up and starts backing away as he comes closer. "No, please...stay away from me..." She said with a frightened whimper, the wolf ignoring her cries and steadily creeping closer._

_"Stay away!" She yelped frantically before shooting a blast of ice at his head, making it jerk to the side before he glares back at her hungrily, waiting on her to run._

_Her jaw dropped when the beast shook her attack off and just keeps backing up before running away as fast as she could, an ice trail forming behind her when she did._

_He snarls quickly before chasing after her, keeping an uncomfortably close pace with her, but not quite able to find an opening to take her down. He knew she couldn't outrun him forever, though, they never can._

_He slowed his pace a little and lets her get ahead, intending to wear her down so when it came time for the kill, she'd be too tired to fight him._

_She just kept running, not even acknowledging the fact he had slowed down and had mostly disappeared from sight._

_He lets out a quick roar, making her look back in terror before speeding up and leaving his line of sight, for now anyway._

_After about thirty minutes, he managed to corner her in another clearing not far from the city and creeps over the light slope separating them, which was now covered in snow and ice._

_He noticed her laying on the ground, having presumably tripped which would make the kill easier. He lets out a light snarl, making her look back in horror before making one last attempt to escape by crawling away before he approaches her and turned her over on her back, pinning her down with his large paws and savoring her scent as she whimpers pathetically in his grasp._

_"Please...let me go...I haven't done anything to you..." She cried before closing her eyes tightly, expecting the monster that knelt over her to rip her apart._

_The wolf stopped, studying her lightly before loosening his grip on her and uttering a light growl before..._

_"Elsa!" The king called out for her, making his head shoot towards him and the guards accompanying him before lunging at one and tearing him to pieces before being struck in the back of the head then batting his attacker's off in retaliation as the rest rush him, noticing Elsa and her father escape out of the corner of his eye..._

When the vision fades, everyone's attention went back to Mikael while mixed emotions decorated their faces, but Elsa looked like she was the most surprised. Considering the way he was acting, she knew it must have been bad, but that wasn't at all what she expected.

"I'm sorry...I really am...you have no idea how much I wish I could..." He choked out quietly, dropping his head when he did while Elsa studied him quietly before looking between everyone else.

"Can we have a moment...alone?" She requested calmly, making Talia, Cedric and Kristoff raise their eyebrows curiously before reluctantly nodding and following Grand Pabbie into a cave behind him while Elsa kneels down in front of Mikael, lightly stroking under his chin before bringing their eyes to meet.

"So, that's it? That's why you've been trying to leave Arendelle..." She inquires softly, watching him nod lightly in confirmation. "I haven't been able to trust myself since it happened. It got worse when I ended up coming back here then..." He started in as calm a tone he could manage, making her sigh lightly.

"Meeting me and Anna..." She said quietly, her head dropping when she thinks about the night they met, remembering the lengths he went to just to stay away from them, now she knew why.

"Why didn't you just tell me...?" She asks in a quick, quiet tone. "Because I was hoping to be in and out of Arendelle before the sun came up that morning so I could get back to hunting the psychopathic man hunting monster I created and get on with my lonely, split-minded existence until someone managed to kill me..." He answered in a calm, but blunt tone, making her shake her head lightly.

"You could have left anytime you wanted to...what stopped you?" She asked lightly. "I've damn near driven myself nuts asking the same question since I got here...overtime, I started figuring out why, but I wasn't entirely sure until..." He stopped, noticing tears form in her eyes then feeling the same light drops stream down his cheek.

"When I heard you and Anna looking for me this morning, as much as I wish you just stayed in Arendelle...I've honestly never been happier to see you..." He said, his voice shaking lightly when he does before he felt her pull him into a tight hug, which caught him off guard, but he hugs her tightly.

"You should have just told me. I know you meant well, but keeping something like that in only makes things worse, we both know that better than anybody. I don't care that you're a werewolf, I don't care that you almost killed me when we were little, you stopped yourself before you did it and that proves you're stronger than you think." She says lightly as they snuggled up to each other, tears streaming from their eyes.

"Mikael, you have more control than you think, you've more than proven that. You just need to learn how to let old mistakes go. It won't be easy, I still haven't been able to completely forgive myself for what I did to Anna, but if it wasn't for her I would probably still be locked in my room or in my ice castle either hiding from the world or letting my guilt eat away at me...let me help you." She said gently before he whimpers lightly, which made her comfortably stroke his back.

* * *

"You know what you're..." He starts before she lightly touched his lips, a small, comforting smile on her lips. "I want you to be happy." She said in a sweet tone, making him crack a light smile.

"Thanks..." He said softly before she lightly kissed his lips. "It's what friends do..." She said shyly, blushing when she did. He shook his head a bit and carefully brings her eyes to meet his. "We both know better than that..." He says in a soft tone, making her smile a bit before lacing her fingers around his hand.

Anna, Talia and Kristoff walk out of the cave about time they had started holding hands and Kristoff quickly cleared his throat, making them look in their direction. "We should probably get going; I think we've had enough misunderstandings for a few months." He said calmly.

"I agree..." Mikael said simply, him and Elsa standing hand in hand before she looks to Grand Pabbie and bows lightly. "Thank you..." She said calmly, making the troll king nod lightly in return.

"Of course, your majesty." He said simply before turning his attention to Mikael. "I wish you both the best of luck." He says in a somewhat quiet tone, Mikael simply offering a nod as a "thank you".

"Alright, now that we've got all the touchy feely shit over with, let's go. We definitely don't want you know who finding you know where and certain individuals might fuck that up." Mercer kind of rambled on his way to the sled, shutting up the moment he sat down and making everyone except Mikael give him an odd look.

"You get used to it..." Mikael said before he and Elsa make their way to the sleigh, followed by the rest of the group and boarding it one after another. "So, what are we going to do if The Southern Isles and Weselton demand his head on a spike?" Cedric asked, motioning to Mikael.

"Well, king Joric seems like a sensible fella that knows something's loose in his boy's head. Cry self-defense, hell peg him with treason, that's one down." Mercer shrugged a bit, making Cedric raise his eyebrow a bit.

"Have you been spying on us?" He asked quickly. "For about two months while Robert's little "treatment" took effect, but that's beside the point. We all know nobody can legally argue with self-defense and way I see it, the boot stain from The Southern Isles took the princess hostage and tried to force the queen into exchanging Arendelle for her life, tried to kill Mikael THEN the two sisters in question before he became an over-sized lapdog's chew toy." Mercer answered, making everyone think.

"And the duke? Whoever believes that mother fucker when he accuses the royal family's new best friend who helped defend Arendelle from the monsters is a damnable fool who needs a lot of sense knocked into them." He continued bluntly.

"Good point..." Anna said simply, nodding her head lightly while Mercer smirked. "That's two." He said simply. "This guy is just strange..." Talia said calmly, shaking her head a bit.

"I've been called a lot worse, dear." He said sarcastically, making her slit her eyes a little. Mikael shook his head lightly after hearing their banter before he felt Elsa lightly snuggling up to him, laying her head on his shoulder when she did.

He smiles a bit when he felt her moving against him and gently pulls her closer to him, making her softly kiss his neck before relaxing against him. "When we get back to Arendelle, I need to talk to you. There's something else I've been meaning to do that's a little overdue." He said calmly, making her nod lightly.

"Okay." She says softly before Kristoff looks back at everyone on the sleigh. "We ready to go?" He asked quickly, making them nod in confirmation. "We're ready." Elsa responded, making him nod a bit before snapping the reins and making Sven rush forward, taking them back to Arendelle...

* * *

**Well, here's the next one. Hope y'all enjoy it, be back with another one a.s.a.p. and so on and so forth.**

**Okay, till the next one.**


	18. Chapter 18: The Beast of Arendelle

So far, everything in Arendelle looked exactly like how they left it save for the chunk of stone missing from the railing on the bridge and the cracks in the wall from Mikael's retreat last night, but that could be fixed later.

"Hey, this is probably a touchy subject right now, but who'd Robert elect to lead his little attack last night?" Mercer asked as he studies the cracked wall, making Mikael hang his head lightly, he almost forgot about that.

"Somebody named Lucia..." Elsa answered quietly, making Mercer's mouth drop. "Little Lucia's dead, then? That bites, I was starting to like the little squirt." He said in a somewhat surprised, disappointed tone before looking at Mikael.

"She suffer?" He asks, making his "frenemy" shrug lightly. "She was a hell of a fighter...all the way to the end." He said simply, making Mercer nod contently. "Really can't ask for a better end than that...go down swingin." He said calmly.

When they pull up to the gates, the guards outside gave Mikael a kind of wary look, especially when they noticed that he was wrapped up in a blanket. Despite this, though, they didn't really try to bother him, but their wary expressions turned to suspicion and surprise when they noticed Mercer who glared back suspiciously.

"Whatcha lookin at, tidbit?" He said sarcastically, making the guards raise their eyebrows before looking between each other then back at the sleigh. "Come on, now, beef strip, we ain't got all day..." Mercer mumbled to himself, making Mikael snicker lightly which drew Elsa and Anna's attention from the latter to him.

"It's a werewolf thing..." He said simply before they nod lightly. After a few moments, the guards finally opened the gates and let them through, both of them eyeing Mercer the whole time they went through, making him shoot them a kind of "I'll eat ya" look.

First stop after making it into the city was of course the stables so they could unhook Sven and let him rest. While Kristoff was seeing to that, Mercer started looking around for the closest tavern before he heard voices coming from behind him.

"Okay, Sven. You rest up, buddy." Kristoff said to the reindeer before he perked his head up. "Will you bring me some carrots later?" He said again, talking for Sven which really made him give the mountain man an odd look.

"Sure, I can do that." He says before Sven licked him happily and lays down. The marauder simply shook his head, a dumbfound look on his face. "I wonder where he gets his shit...can't say I've seen a mother fucker talking to a reindeer before...cows, sheep, trees, bears, yeah, but this is a new one..." He said in a kind of dull tone.

After the sleigh was put up, the rest of the group went to collect Mercer before he turns to face them. "Well, it's been an interesting trip and y'all are some interesting people, but we might have to pick this up another time." He said simply, everyone except Mikael raising an eyebrow.

"Are you sure...you're more than welcome to..." Elsa starts before he shook his head. "Trust me, snowflake, me and blue bloods mix worse than dogs and cats. About ninety nine percent of the time, I can't be around em, I end up getting bored and that always ends badly." He answered bluntly.

"Besides, I got a lot of drinkin to do while I decide how I'm gonna get on good terms with the gods before Robert rips my lungs out and decides to make em into a new hat." He states, making her cringe lightly with the thought.

"Suit yourself..." She said lightly before he bows. "I appreciate ya offerin, though." He gave her a light grin before looking up at everyone else. "A'ight, as much as I'd like to stick around, I can't. So, if anybody needs me, I'll be at the tavern...a keg in one arm and a gorgeous young lass in the other." He chuckled as he started walking off then turns back one last time.

"Do me a favor...don't need me." He added before disappearing into the crowd. "Does he always do that?" Elsa asks, turning her attention to Mikael as he was shrugging. "You should see him on one of his real bad days...this ain't nothing." He said calmly, making her raise her eyebrow lightly.

"How bad can he get...?" She asks hesitantly before she noticed him shaking his head and trying to stifle laughter. "Let's just say it's pretty damn funny looking when an eight year old boy's dragging an old, cursing, ranting pissed off drunk out of a tavern by his ears the whole time he's kicking, screaming and trying to cut a China man's kidney out because the guy happened to be cheating during a card game." He explained, making everyone's mouths drop.

* * *

"You couldn't just leave him in there? Not trying to sound mean or anything, but..." Talia asked calmly, making Mikael shake his head. "If I didn't get him out of there when I did, that little sawed off, slanted eyed bastard would have killed him...he already had him twisted up in a chair by the time I actually got there." He answered, making her raise her eyebrow.

"Don't ask, I still ain't figured out how he did that shit...I'm a werewolf and I was having enough trouble dragging his bulky ass out of that tavern and back to the camp." He said calmly, making Kristoff give him a curious look.

"Well why didn't you load him on a carriage or something like that?" He asked in a kind of confused tone. "I would have, but apparently most all animals can sense a werewolf no matter which form their in and usually anything except a wolf will get as far away from one as possible. So, when I went to "borrow" a wagon and hook some horses up to it well...the rest writes itself." He said calmly, making him raise his eyebrow a bit.

"Well, can't really argue with that..." He said simply while Elsa, Anna and Talia shook their heads. "I bet you were pissed off when you made it back." Talia said with a light chuckle, making a light smirk cross Mikael's face.

"If I hadn't helped myself to some of his leaf that night, he would have woke up the next morning hanging upside down from a tree by his tool while some of the little kids in the clan beat him with sticks." He said wittily, making them laugh when he did.

"So, how exactly did you keep from killing each other?" Anna asked quickly. "I don't even know honestly, I personally figured one of us would have got fed up with the other by now. But, that's usually the life of a cutthroat, your friends say they're gonna kill you, you tell your friends you're gonna kill them and eventually, one of ya dies usually in some indescribably painful manner. It's all just one crazy; fucked up game we call business." He shrugs a bit.

"What are the chances of your friend tearing up the tavern?" Cedric asked him calmly. "Well, considering he's pretty much convinced Robert's gonna kill him tonight, I'd say he wouldn't be trying to blow it by getting in trouble. He always said that if he ever got on his bad side, he'd make sure he got so damn drunk; he'd be able to piss on his grave for a week. So, I'd imagine he'll save all that booze for our "mutual friend's" grave." He answered, making the guard captain nod contently.

When they made it back to the castle, they were greeted by Erik who had bandages covering his chest where Mikael struck him last night, but the wound didn't seem to hinder him at all.

He looked to Elsa and Anna and bows respectfully before turning his attention to Mikael, a satisfied grin forming on his face as he approached him. Mikael studied the massive Russian for a minute, half expecting him to hammer him into the ground before he felt the man pat him on the shoulder before laughing lightly.

"Best fight I've had in years, lad. That's the first time an opponent has managed to knock me on my arse." He said simply, making Mikael raise his eyebrow curiously. "I think we can all agree those two had it coming. Who better to put them in their place than a true warrior of the old ways?" He smirks lightly, making Elsa and Anna study him.

"Huh?" Anna asks in a confused tone. "A man who's more than willing to do whatever it takes to not only defend what he holds closest to him, but has the honor to try and redeem himself for the mistakes of his past no matter how seemingly unforgivable." He explained calmly, making Elsa smile lightly before he motions them inside.

"King Joric is waiting for you." He said calmly, his smirk fading a bit before Elsa nods lightly. "Thank you..." She said before they start walking through the courtyard, Erik turning around in a flash.

"Oh and Mikael?" He called out, making them turn to face him. "I took the liberty of recovering your weapons and taking them to your room, I hope that's alright." He said quickly before Mikael nods contently as they each went back to their business.

Elsa, Anna, Talia and Mikael entered the throne room while Cedric returned to his duties and Kristoff made his way back to the ice fields, Joric, Harknir, Rapunzel and Flynn looking towards them when they heard the door open.

* * *

The king from the Southern Isles bowed lightly as they approached, a rather blank expression on his face as they each give him a light bow in return before he turned to the royal family of Corona.

"May I speak with them alone?" He requested calmly, making Harknir raise his eyebrow for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "Of course." He said before leaving the room, his daughter and son in law following suit.

Of course he approached Mikael first, nodding his head respectfully when he reached the wary lycanthrope who was eyeing him curiously. "Do you work with the ones who attacked Arendelle last night?" He asks quietly.

"Not since I was little...when they stole my power and killed my mother..." He answers in a quiet tone, making him hang his head a bit before looking up at him again. "I'm sorry for your loss...even if it's too late for condolences." He said quietly before motioning them to sit down.

They each found a seat before Joric places a chair a few feet in front of the throne before sitting down, turning his attention to Elsa. "I hope Mikael doesn't take offense to this request and I don't mean to be rude, but I want to hear your side of things first." He said in a reluctant tone before Elsa nods lightly.

"With all due respect, your highness, I think the security of your kingdom could use a little improvement. Your son, Prince Hans confronted Anna, Talia and I while we were looking for Mikael then took my sister hostage and attempted to exchange her life for control of Arendelle. Honestly, if Mikael hadn't intervened when he did Anna would be dead and..." She paused for a moment, noticing the ashamed look on his face.

"He wouldn't have turned if Hans didn't try to gut him." She finished, making Joric bury his face in his hands before studying the group with a complex look on his face.

"I swear he's never going to learn." He grumbled to himself before taking a light breath. "If there's anything I can do to make up for Han's behavior..." He started before Mikael leans forward a bit.

"Actually, there is a matter that you and the others might be able to help with." He said calmly, making Elsa look at him curiously. "We can't ask him to do anymore for us, he's done enough already..." She said lightly before noticing the urgent look in his eyes as he leans closer to her.

"Tonight's the blood moon...we're going to need all the help we can get, especially if he sends the whole pack." He says quietly, making her remember what Mercer told them the night before.

"Right...I almost forgot about that..." She said softly before they turn their attention back to Joric, who was waiting to hear their request. "The attack last night...it ain't the last and sure as hell ain't the worst." Mikael started calmly, making him raise his eyebrow curiously.

"What's going to be the difference between last night and tonight?" He asked calmly. "Because tonight's a blood moon. It's the one time that a werewolf's hunger and strength are heightened to a point that they're nigh invulnerable." Mikael explains.

"And you want me and the other nobles to help defend Arendelle if they attack, right?" Joric asked, making Mikael nod lightly. "Right. I ain't sure exactly how he plans on doing it, but he'll try and take Arendelle tonight if he gets the chance." He answers before Joric raised his eyebrow curiously.

"What about you?" He asks, making Mikael's head drop lightly. "I have to end this bullshit...for good." He answers simply, everyone else's jaw dropping when he did and Elsa giving him a shocked look.

"Alone?" She asked, her voice squeaking lightly when she did. He nods a bit in response. "It's the only way...I'm the only one that's ever stood toe to toe with that psychotic mother fucker and lived...it's either me or he takes the city." He answers softly before noticing Joric nod out of the corner of his eye.

"We'll help in any way we can." He said calmly before they both nod lightly. "Thank you." Elsa said calmly before turning her attention back to Mikael. "I...guess I'll leave you to your business, then." Joric said before turning to leave the throne room, bowing lightly before he walks through the door.

"I need to get dressed..." Mikael says quietly before standing, Elsa following behind him as he left the room and made his way down the corridors. Talia and Anna watched quietly as they left, not really sure how exactly to react to what just happened.

* * *

Elsa entered Mikael's room after he disappeared through the door before she noticed him staring at a strange, but beautifully crafted pendant, a focused look on his face as he went over everything that's happened over the past few days.

She looks him over for a minute before sitting beside him, lightly stroking his leg when she did. "You don't have to face him alone..." She said softly, a worried, caring look in her eyes.

"He'll use you as leverage...like he did with her...I ain't gonna let it happen, not again." He says calmly, his gaze not leaving the pendant until she sighs a bit. "It won't..." She said in a reassuring tone.

"Elsa..." He starts before she lightly placed her finger on his lips. "I'm not letting you face him by yourself...what if...?" She chokes at the end as tears start forming in her eyes.

"Please...don't leave me again..." She squeaks, trying to keep from crying until he lets out a light sigh and lovingly wrapped his arms around her as she starts whimpering into his chest.

"I ain't gonna leave you...but I won't be able to forgive myself if..." He said softly, tears streaming from his eyes when the thought crossed his mind. She sniffed a little before lightly nuzzling him, not wanting to let him go.

"And if he kills you..." She whimpers sadly, trying to find the words to finish the sentence as he softly caressed her back, hoping it'd help her feel a little better. "I'll drag him down with me..." He said quietly, holding her like it'd be the last time they'd enjoy each other's embrace.

"I love you...more than the air I'm breathing right now...I can't give Robert the chance to get near you." He says gently, his voice cracking as he starts crying with her. She snuggles closer to him before lightly kissing his lips, locking eyes with him afterwards.

"And I can't let you face the monster from your past alone..." She said lightly, an unwavering look in her teary eyes. "I won't..." She adds quietly, making him sigh a bit.

"She would have liked you...you're like twins..." He kind of mutters before getting lost in her shimmering blue eyes, a light smile barely crossing his lips. "I ain't gonna talk you out of this, am I?" He inquired simply, making her smile a bit before shaking her head.

"No..." She answers softly before gently playing with his hair. "I hope you realize we might not make it back..." He says calmly before she nods lightly. "I know..." She says, her tone not changing in the slightest.

He wasn't really sure what to say to that, especially knowing that she still wants to help him fight Robert after all the horror stories he's told her about him and still wants him to stay in Arendelle after finding out what he truly was and that he almost killed her.

It still confused him, even after everything they've been through together. Selena was the only person that ever cared this much about him, even giving her life so he could escape and now Elsa was offering to risk her life to help him fight Robert.

"You really don't have to..." He starts before she passionately kissed him, both of them falling backwards on the bed when she did. She snuggles up to him after their lips part and smiles.

"I don't care...I'm coming with you..." She says sweetly, making him smile lightly before gently stroking his fingertips up her back and making her tremble cutely. When he reached the nape of her neck, he discreetly brings his other hand to her neck before carefully latching Selena's pendant around her neck.

She reached for the pendant then studies it for a minute before looking back at him, noticing the loving look in his eyes. "She'd want you to have it, I think." He said, blushing lightly when he did before her smile grows a little as she lightly strokes his cheek.

"Thank you." She says lightly as she starts relaxing in his arms. "You look tired..." He says softly. "So do you..." She retorts in a cute tone, making him chuckle a bit. "I turned into a werewolf, sleeping ain't easy when ya do that." He said playfully.

* * *

"Did you sleep at all?" He asks before she shrugs lightly in his arms. "A little...I couldn't stay asleep, though. I was worried about you." She answers softly, making him shake his head lightly.

"If we live through tonight, please try not to make that a habit. It won't help ya, trust me." He requested gently, making her smile lightly. "I'll try not to..." She said softly before looking in his eyes.

"I don't want to dampen the mood, but what exactly is the plan?" She asks hesitantly. "If he doesn't come to us, we'll have to hunt him down. I'll be able to track him, but I doubt he'll just stay in one spot all night." He answers calmly as she listens intently.

"When we find him, though, we'll more than likely have to deal with the clan and that's a lot easier said than done. I should be able to keep the bulk of them off of ya, but they'll be stronger and faster, so I wouldn't suggest letting your guard down...for anything." He continues calmly, noticing her eyes drop when she heard the end.

He gently strokes her cheek and gives her a reassuring smile. "Hey...don't think about that..." He said softly before she reluctantly nods then rests her head on his chest.

"And Robert...?" She asks softly. "Leave him to me..." He says softly before lightly stroking her hair, making her smile again before lightly shifting in his arms. "You oughta get some sleep. We both need some rest before tonight." He suggests gently, making her giggle a bit.

"I'm tempted to take you up on that..." She says cutely, making him laugh a bit. "It's okay...go ahead." He says in a sweet tone, lightly caressing the side of her head as she lets his voice, touch and heartbeat loll her to sleep.

He was still lightly stroking her after she dozed off and starts listening to her light, steady breathing and her soft, calming heartbeat before he starts dozing off himself, snuggling her close as he does...

* * *

**Well, I sure hope y'all have really enjoyed this cheesy little project...**

**Cuz it's about to end.**

**Yup, it's about to be over, as with many things.**

**Don't ask, I'm mostly talkin shit.**

**We only got a couple of chapters left, so ya know.**

**Anyway, see y'all next time, I'll do my best to keep these last chapters as interesting as these others, well except this one, I got kinda lazy with it and I feel like it kinda falls short at times, but it happens, I guess.**

**Okay, see ya**


	19. Chapter 19: Blood Moon

Elsa wakes up hours later, her gaze moving straight to Mikael who was still sound asleep with his arms laced around her. She smiled lightly then starts gently playing with a lock of his hair until she noticed the crimson light illuminating the room.

Her smile fades and she starts looking around curiously before her eyes shot to the window, learning that not only have they been asleep all day, but the blood moon had risen. "I would have thought Anna would have come looking for us at least..." She said to herself before looking back at Mikael, however something in her gut kept telling her something wasn't right.

She carefully wiggles out of Mikael's arms and makes her way to the door, opening it slowly so she wouldn't wake him up then walking through the corridors to look around.

First, she makes her way to Anna's room to check on her and Kristoff, but when she opened the door, it looked like nobody had been in there all day which made her start worrying more.

"Anna?" She calls out, a frightened and concerned look crossing her face when nobody answers. "Anna!" She calls out again, once again being answered with silence. That's when she remembers Mikael mentioning the possibility of Robert looking for leverage, which made ice start creeping up the walls and door frame.

She starts rushing through the corridors in the hopes that she'd run into Anna somewhere along the way until she eventually found herself in the throne room, soon turning her attention to the kitchen.

"Maybe she went to get a midnight snack?" She asks herself as she walks towards the kitchen until... "I'm afraid not, your majesty..." A familiar voice calls out to her, making her stop before turning to face the man who she discovers to be William.

"Well, do you know where she is?" She asks quickly, making a kind of deranged grin cross the councilman's lips as his eyes start shimmering with a hunger that she's noticed in Mikael's eyes.

"It was the only way I could make sure Arendelle would be safe...this Robert, he's a cold, remorseless monster that was hell-bent on tearing the city to pieces." He starts, a mortified look forming on Elsa's face when she starts realizing what he's done.

"No...you didn't...you can't..." She stuttered quietly. "I went to find him this morning, thanks to the map Mikael provided to the guards and made him an offer...the princesses from both Arendelle and Corona, along with their...commoner lovers for Arendelle's safety." He continues, her fear and anger steadily growing the whole time.

"Why?! What's in it for you?!" She exclaimed, her voice cracking a bit despite the obvious fury surging through her words as William savored the scent. "Well, your majesty...he gave me the power to kill you. I was going to wait until your new pet was out of the way before I did it, but obviously he's not here to intervene this time...so now's as good a time as any..." He grimaced before his eyes flash gold and his bones start crackling.

Elsa started backing away, raising her hand defensively as she watched her former councilman undergo the same transformation Mikael struggled through last night until it was done, a six and a half foot werewolf with a dark brown pelt taking his place.

William glares at her as he stands on his hind legs, snarling hungrily as he prepares to lunge at her, the smell of her fear making his senses go haywire before he finally leaps towards her only for Mikael to catch him in mid-air as the monstrous black wolf that tears his way out of his body then drags the "pup" to the ground.

Elsa jumped when she saw William being snatched out of the air then turns her attention to him and Mikael as she watched the monster who kidnapped her family struggle under the beast's claws before being flung through a pillar like he was nothing.

Mikael rose to his full height and positioned himself in front of Elsa as William struggled to his feet and tried to collect himself before noticing the behemoth that stood between him and his prey, snarling angrily as he readies himself for another attack.

He studied his smaller adversary as he hunches his shoulders, a low, intimidating growl rumbling in his throat while William charges towards him, making him rush forward as they lunged at each other.

* * *

They met in the middle and mercilessly tear into each other before crashing to the ground, William biting into Mikael's throat when they did which only pissed him off and made him rip his claws down his back.

William howled in pain before Mikael interrupts him with a loud roar then bashed and slashed at him before snapping his jaws down on his leg and slings him around like a rag doll before slamming him down on the floor, leaving a decent sized crater in the middle of it then snatching him up again and throwing his at the moment limp body into the wall behind the throne.

All Elsa could really do was watch the carnage until she noticed William fly behind the throne, Mikael strolling to him as he tried to struggle to his feet, yelping in pain each time due to the damage he suffered during the scrap until he was forced back to the ground long enough for his much bigger adversary to tear his heart out through his back, the sickening sound of bones crunching filling the room as William's body goes limp for the last time.

Mikael stood and turned towards Elsa, the combination of the adrenaline rushing through him and the influence of the blood moon making her seem like prey and urging him to take her. She frowns lightly when she noticed the hungry look in his eyes and studies him as he starts trotting towards her, his light snarling making her shake like a leaf as he grew closer.

"Mikael." She calls out to him in a gentle tone, making the beast stop a few feet in front of her. She started slowly moving towards him, raising a reassuring hand as a wary growl rumbles in his throat while William's blood drips from his maw.

"It's okay. You know I'm not going to hurt you." She says gently as Mikael's gold eyes study her curiously, slowly taking a more passive stance as her comforting voice starts soothing his rage.

At the moment, Mikael was definitely bigger than Elsa, the queen herself looking directly at the center of the beast's chest before turning her gaze up to look him in the eyes then gently petting his cheek and neck, his scowl softening when he felt her touch.

His body relaxed and he lightly purrs before kneeling down to her height and meeting her eyes as a soft smile crosses her lips, still gently running her hand through his fur until she remembers what William told her.

"William kidnapped Anna, Kristoff, Flynn and Rapunzel then traded them to Robert. We need to find them." She explains quickly, Mikael's ears perking up as she does and making him snarl a bit.

"I'm going to go find Talia and Cedric; they'll be able to help us. Can you meet me outside the city and...please try to stay out of sight?" She says softly, making him nod his large head lightly before getting down on all fours and creeping out of the castle, kind of surprising Elsa when she saw how much guile he demonstrated despite his size.

After he disappears, she rushed to the barracks to retrieve Cedric who was waiting on her outside the door when she arrived. "One of them got in?" He asked calmly, acting like he was used to this kind of thing already.

"William. Apparently he traded Anna, Kristoff and my cousins to Robert so he could turn into a werewolf and kill me..." She answered, making the guard captain raise his eyebrow a bit.

"Did he hurt you?" He asks before she shakes her head. "No, Mikael killed him before he could get close enough." She says, her tone still pretty urgent. Cedric shrugs lightly. "About time." He said under his breath.

"How are we going to hunt down Robert?" He asked calmly, making her smile a little. "I'll show you when we find Talia." She answers before the werewolf hunter walked out of the shadows, armed and ready to go.

"Whenever you're ready." She said with a light smirk, making Elsa smile a little more while Cedric retrieves his weapons. "Okay, then. Let's go." She said calmly before they made their way outside.

"So, you think we'll be able to kill him?" Talia asked calmly as they walked through the courtyard. "I don't know. From what Mikael's been telling me, werewolves are stronger under a blood moon." Elsa answers in a somewhat hesitant tone.

"Which doesn't give us real good odds." Cedric said simply, making Talia and Elsa nod lightly. "Almost impossible if he wasn't exaggerating." Elsa says softly as they cross the bridge connecting Arendelle to the wilds.

"Wouldn't surprise me, the moon effects werewolves in ways that most people don't acknowledge. I've never heard the thing about the blood moon before, but I've noticed werewolves are stronger at night and that strength grows with the moon. I think their hide's tougher and they heal faster the fuller it gets too." Talia thought aloud, making her companions raise their eyebrows curiously.

"That explains a lot." Cedric kind of grumbled before he noticed the monstrous black werewolf that fled Arendelle last night creeping up to the end of the bridge on all fours, staying a few feet from them.

Cedric and Talia studied the beast curiously, raising their eyebrows as they did. "Is that...?" Talia starts before Elsa nods lightly. "Mikael." She answers calmly. "And..." Cedric started simply. "He's going to help us." Elsa finished the sentence for him.

* * *

"Do we need horses?" He asks before Talia shook her head. "I've never seen a horse that can outrun a werewolf..." She said simply before Elsa walks up to Mikael, holding one of Anna's mittens out for him to pick up her scent.

He sniffed the mitten for a moment before turning his attention to the forest, instantly picking up her scent and making his way into the woods. Elsa turns to Cedric and Talia before motioning them to follow.

They hesitated for a minute, but soon started reluctantly following them. "So...tell me a little about yourself, Cedric." Talia said, trying to strike up a conversation and making him raise his eyebrow a bit.

"I'm the captain of the Arendelle guard, not really much else to tell..." He said calmly. "Oh, come on now. What do ya do when you're off duty?" She urged, making him shake his head lightly.

"I prefer not to think of as duty. It's more like keeping a promise to a friend, I think." He said calmly, making Talia raise her eyebrow a bit. "Sounds like a travelling story..." She inquired, making him give her a curious look.

"Let's just say this isn't the first time a strange series of murders hit Arendelle. Elsa would have been too young to remember it, though." He said simply, catching the queen's attention and making her cut her eyes back to them a bit.

"Come on, tell us about it. It can't be much worse than this." Talia nudged him a bit, making him shake his head. "Maybe later, let's keep our attention on this monster before talking about another." He said in a quick, simple tone, making her shrug lightly.

"Okay, then." She kind of mumbles before looking around the crimson shaded forest, whistling to herself lightly. Elsa turns her attention back to Mikael, who was steadily sniffing the air while his ears move around in different directions like he was listening to every little thing that was going on around them.

She smiles lightly and gently pets him, making him softly move his head around in her hand while his nose wiggles, letting them know that he was steadily tracking their quarry.

After a few moments, his ears and head shot up as he turned his attention north east of their location while he rises to his hind legs and sniffed the air before noticing the stream of smoke fluttering up to the sky.

He snarls lightly before dropping back on all fours and turning to his companions and nodding his head in that direction, letting them know they were getting close before running to the scent, but he slowed down enough for them to keep up.

"He found them, let's go!" Elsa said quickly as she runs after Mikael, Talia and Cedric keeping close pace with them while they each listened to their werewolf guide grunt and pant as he bounds a few feet in front of them, occasionally looking back to make sure they weren't falling behind.

After what felt like an hour of running, Mikael stops dead in front of them, making everyone freeze where they were before he turns his attention to Elsa and nods his head again like he was motioning her to him.

She walks up to him before he looks down to the clearing below them, making her follow his gaze when she reached him. A worried, scared look crosses her face when she saw her sister, future brother in law and cousins tied to a thick wooden post while savage, almost demonic looking men whooped, cheered and yelled as their leader approached his captives.

"Robert..." She mutters to herself as she studies the sadistic demon of a man that was within arm's length of her family, noticing his empty black eyes, white streaked dirty blonde hair and worn and battered scale plated armor which looked like it was decorated with fur from different animals, the dark red werewolf pelt adorning his shoulders being the most prominent.

Despite all of this, though the one thing that really made her stomach turn was the blood thirsty, dagger lined grimace splitting his face. Cedric and Talia joined them after a minute, their eyes shooting straight to Robert when they reached them before turning their attention to Elsa.

"So, what's the plan?" Cedric asked calmly, making her think for a minute before looking between them. "Okay, first we need some kind of diversion. Maybe offer a ransom?" She suggests calmly, Talia raising her eyebrow lightly.

"He doesn't look like the type of guy that'll listen to reason." She said simply, making Elsa smirk lightly. "That's why Mikael's going to be waiting over there to attack him if he tries anything." She says calmly as she motioned to some brush that lines the east side of the camp.

"And we'll fight off the rest. I know it won't be easy, but it's the best I've got..." She finished in a light tone, Cedric and Talia shrugging in response. "Eh, I've heard worse..." Cedric said in a kind of blunt tone, making Talia nod lightly.

* * *

"Yeah...besides, I can't really think of a better way to die than doing what I'm good at." She smirks before Cedric looks towards her. "Have you ever considered being a guard? If we survive this, I'd appreciate a co-captain." He suggests before she laughs.

"I'll think about it." She said simply, looking back down at the clearing before standing up. "Well, it's now or never." She starts making her way down the hill with Cedric following suit.

"I'll meet you down there..." Elsa says in a kind of quiet tone, making them shrug lightly before they continue down the path. She turns her attention back to Mikael, who meets her gaze when he felt her eyes on him before she moves closer to him.

She was terrified, he could see it in her eyes, even smell it in her heart and while it made his hunger gnaw at him mercilessly, it made him wish he could say something that would help her feel better even if he couldn't in his current state, but he did whimper lightly before gently nudging her arm like he was trying to help her feel better.

She smiles and laughs lightly before gently scratching him behind his ear. "If we...somehow survive this...I hope you decide to stay in Arendelle...you may not believe this, but other than Anna...you're the best friend I've ever had and you've probably figured this out, but..." She started blushing towards the end and had to get her nerves back in order before finishing.

"I want us to be more...if you..." Her voice fades a little when she felt the tips of his claws lightly touching her back as he draped his massive arm around her then carefully pulls her to him, making her instinctively lace her arms around his neck when she pressed against him, light tears streaming from her eyes and a smile crossing her lips.

"I'll take that as a yes..." She said softly, snuggling close to him before they reluctantly let each other go. "Please try to be careful..." She says as she wiped tears from her eyes, regaining her reserve before he nods lightly and they part ways.

She catches up to Cedric and Talia after a few minutes, both of them studying her when they noticed her still teary eyes. "Tender moment?" Talia asks calmly, making her nod lightly as she sniffles a bit.

Talia lightly pats her on the shoulder before coaxing her to their side. "Hey. We're gonna make it." She said confidently, making Cedric raise his eyebrow a bit. "Cocky much?" He said dully, making her laugh.

"Hey, if we don't, they'll sure as hell remember who we are." She says simply, smirking when she did. He studied her for a minute then nods his head. "That's one way to look at it." He said calmly before taking a breath.

"Alright, we ready?" He asks before they both nod lightly. "As we'll ever be." Elsa says calmly, making him nod a bit. "Good enough. Let's go." He said simply before they walk through the bushes and into the camp, the marauders not even acknowledging them until they were standing a few feet from the post Anna and the others were tied to.

Robert turns to face them, his sadistic grimace not fading as he studied the group, Elsa in particular. "Well, well...why ain't I surprised?" He snarled lightly, making her skin crawl when she felt his eyes on her.

"Children! I present to you! The snow queen of Arendelle!" He roared, the rest of the clan howling and roaring when he finished before the monster himself approached, stopping a few feet in front of them.

"Let me guess...you want your family back." He said in a rather cold tone. "Just name your price..." She says simply, making utter a manic laugh. "Price? I have power the gods themselves fear, I can take anything I wish and kill anyone that tries to stop me!" He boasts, trying to intimidate her.

"Why do I need ransom when I have a couple of new...playthings?" He says with a sinister tone, cutting his eyes to his captives when he did. "Because something tells me you'd rather try and extort whatever you can out of the queen of Arendelle just so you can make me squirm instead of just torturing four people that may not make it through the night." She suggests calmly, making him grin more.

"Hmmm...you're an interesting negotiator, your majesty...almost like a little witch and a mongrel pup who eventually betrayed me..." He says simply, keeping his sadistic tone before studying her more.

"Fine, I'll accept a ransom...the princesses of Arendelle and Corona, lovers included...in exchange for you..." He states coldly. "Elsa! Don't do it!" Anna calls out quickly before noticing her sister take a breath then meet the beast's eyes.

"Release them first..." Elsa said simply, Robert nodding in agreement before he motions for one of his men to cut them loose, Anna running straight to Elsa and hugging her tightly the moment the ropes were cut.

"Elsa, please don't do this..." She squeaked as tears flow from their eyes. "Don't worry about me...you have to get out of here..." She says softly, holding her little sister close before...

* * *

"Hurry it up, Queen Elsa...we're burning moonlight!" Robert called out impatiently, making her want to freeze him solid right there. The sisters reluctantly let each other go before Elsa starts slowly approaching the monster that's been terrorizing her kingdom.

He grimaced savagely while he watched her approach until an infuriated, vengeful roar echoes through the forest and made the trees shutter at it's power before Mikael lunges from his hiding place, sinking his claws deep into Roberts chest before slamming him on the ground a few times, force him to his feet then mercilessly slash across his body and ending the assault by slashing up his chest and impaling him on the branch behind him, the wood splintering as it lodged itself in through his chest.

Mikael rushed to Elsa's side while the rest of the clan charged towards him in an attempt to avenge their "fallen" master only for him to unleash another thundering roar that stops them in their tracks, their weapons clattering to the ground as Anna and the others joined the two unorthodox lovers while Mikael took a defensive stance in front of them, an angry snarl rumbling from his throat and his ears pinning back the whole time.

"Stop!" Robert roars as he wrestled himself down from the branch, picking splinters out of the hole in his chest before glaring at Mikael who simply glares back. "You've always been persistent, Mikael. Not the kind of man you want to piss off, either...but, you're too soft. What is she worth to ya, boy? Huh?" He taunts in a calm tone, Mikael snarling in response.

"You didn't give a fuck about her when Selena talked you into going with her to Arendelle, you could have cared less when you had her pinned to the ground like a helpless animal...now, you're her royal lapdog?" He continues, shaking his head lightly when he finished.

"Pathetic...I should just put all of ya out of your misery, but I can't help wondering..." He starts as he looks between them. "Who would suffer more if one dies...?" He said to himself, studying the group with a sadistic glare until he smells Elsa's fear and worry which was like ecstasy to him.

He grins and starts moving towards her until Mikael blocks his path, growling angrily when he does. "Just you and me, then..." He said calmly before backing away, the pitch black gems in his eyes turning blood red as his muscles stretch, his bones crack and white fur sprouts from his body, soon accompanied by a set black claws and gleaming fangs as a white wolf who was barely shorter than the black beast in front of him takes Robert's place, unleashing an ear splitting roar to challenge Mikael.

Mikael roars in response before he and Robert start circling each other while everyone watch and wait to see who's going to strike first, save for Elsa who was fighting the urge to run to Mikael's side.

After a few moments, Robert charged towards his opponent on all fours only for Mikael to catch him by the throat mid stride and flip him under his arm then pin him down again until Robert sinks his fangs into his arm, making him roar in pain before flinging him through another tree.

Robert rushed to his feet and glares at Mikael before they rush each other again, the black werewolf snatching his white counterpart to the ground while his opponent sinks his fangs deep in his shoulder.

They wrestled, slashed and mauled each other until Robert finally kicks Mikael off of him, sending him flying into the top of a tree before he catches himself with his claws and uses the force of the impact to launch himself back at Robert, leaving a deep gash in the beast's back when he landed and making him howl painfully before slashing Mikael across the head a few times then pinning him to the ground.

Robert snaps down on Mikael's shoulder and rips a chunk out, making him kind of yelp before rolling over on top of his adversary in an attempt to knock him off then sinks his claws into the white wolf's back, slam him down then tear a chunk out of his arm with his fangs.

The bloodied white monster elbows Mikael in the side of the head after he rips the flesh from his arm then swipes up to send him backwards before pouncing on him, mercilessly slashing and biting him after pinning him down again.

Mikael growled, snarled and yelped in pain under the assault and tried to force Robert off of him, but he wasn't showing him any quarter. However, Mikael managed to tear into him and cause significant damage whenever he found an opening.

After a few minute, Robert sinks his claws into Mikael's throat and throws him through a tree, Elsa's eyes widening in fear when she saw his body fly across the clearing.

Robert roars before rushing towards the fallen tree until Mikael lunged from where he landed and bites down on his throat, slinging him around until Robert catches him on the back and makes them force each other back to the ground, their blood flying all over the place as they tore each other to pieces.

* * *

Little did anybody know, Mercer managed to slip back into the camp and lightly taps Elsa on the shoulder, making her jump and almost freeze him solid until she recognizes him.

"I think we should use this as an opportunity to get y'all out of here..." He said simply, Elsa looking back about time Mikael and Robert force each other up then snap and claw at each other again, their snarling and roaring echoing through the forest.

"Come on! Let's go!" Mercer calls out, making the group reluctantly follow him through the crowd, who was so preoccupied with the duel that they didn't notice them leaving.

They were about ten miles from the camp, but they could still hear the two wolves battling it out and all Elsa could really do is hope Mikael would come back to her. "Tell us something, Mercer..." Talia called out to the man who was leading them away from the scene, making him raise his eyebrow.

"What?" He asked in a somewhat impatient tone. "You and Mikael act like you hate each other to no end, but you keep helping each other in different ways..." She starts, almost making him roll his eyes.

"Yeah..." He said simply. "Why is that...?" She asks, a curious look on her face. "Just business..." He answered dully, but Talia wasn't buying it. "He didn't ask you to get us out of that camp, did he?" She said bluntly, this time making him roll his eyes.

"Why do ya wanna know?" He kind of snapped before Talia slits her eyes a little. "I'm just saying, it just seems like one of those...toxic friendships or something, like one of ya's going to kill the other at some point." She says simply.

"Fine...believe it or not, the little prick and Selena were the only family I ever had. Now one's dead and the other's probably about to be." He answered, making her shake her head lightly.

"Explain a little bit." She said calmly before he groaned irritably. "Trust me, I probably would be trying to kill him every time I saw him if he gave me the same treatment." He said, his tone still somewhat irritable while they studied him, Elsa in particular.

"Look, I'll give ya the short version. Yeah, there are times I'd like to kill him and call it a day and it confused the living fuck out of me every time he got me out of some major shit..." He starts, making Elsa kind of look back towards the camp as she listened.

"I never knew why he did all that until I spent a couple of days as a werewolf...then I learned a lesson he was teaching me since the day we met. No matter what ya think of your family, your pack...you never abandon them when they need ya most." He finished in a somewhat calmer tone.

Elsa stops in her tracks when she heard that and looks to the camp again, taking a deep breath before turning back to the group. "I have to go back..." She said calmly, making everyone else stop and turn towards her.

"Elsa..." Anna starts before she interrupts her. "No, Anna...I'm not leaving him behind. Not again." She said simply, tears forming in her sister's eyes when she does. She hugs Anna close to her, crying herself when they embraced.

"Thank you for being there for me, little sister...I promise, I'll do my best to come back." She said quietly before they reluctantly let each other go, Mercer approaching her next.

"Ya know what you're..." He starts before Elsa shakes her head. "Don't...you're not going to talk me out of it. He's been there for me ever since he came to Arendelle, longer than that actually..." She said simply, making him nod lightly.

"Do whatcha have to, then. Gods be with you..." He said before she nods a little. "Thank you..." She says before rushing back to the clearing, her companions heading the opposite direction after she disappears...

* * *

**This is probably my last author's note until the end, idk yet. I just wanted to take this time to thank all of ya so much**

**for taking the time to read this and for following it so closely.**

**Almost makes me feel bad it's about over, cheesy or not. Anyway, I do hope y'all enjoy this installment**

**and I'll try and have the next one up soon...**

**Till then, y'all.**


	20. Chapter 20: Wolves in Winter's Cold

Over the course of two hours, Mikael and Robert managed to kill off the clan and feed on them in an attempt to accelerate their healing rate while steadily tearing each other to pieces. Their pelts had almost turned red as the combination of each other's blood and the clan's blood, but neither of them showed any signs of tiring, giving up or weakening despite the deep wounds decorating their bodies.

The beasts forced each other back before briefly stopping their assault to heal a bit, both of them panting heavily as they glared at each other. They lunged at each other again before meeting in mid-air and slashing, mauling and tearing into their enemy's flesh as they tumble to the ground, leaving a light crater in it when they hit.

Robert had his fangs latched to Mikael's throat and lifts him up as he slashed at his opponent then slings him across the clearing, the black wolf crashing to the ground again before struggling back to his feet, his wounds sapping at his strength as Robert creeps closer.

He prepared to lunge at Mikael, sprinting on all fours to build up momentum until he was stopped by a wall of ice spikes that shot up out of nowhere, effectively separating the two wolves and making Robert look to his left where he noticed Elsa glaring at him angrily.

"Leave him alone!" She shouts before Robert roared in response, lunging towards her instead. She barely managed to step out of the way and hits him in the head with an icy blast and steadily dodging his claws and fangs as he mercilessly swiped and snapped at her.

She had formed ice walls, spikes and even fired blizzards at him in an attempt to slow him down, but her assault just seemed to anger him more and make him move faster at times until he finally managed to swipe at her and send her flying to the side.

She grunts a little and catches herself with a pile of snow before turning her gaze to Mikael, who looked like he should have been dead several times over. "Come on...get up. Please get up." She said to herself lightly before Robert growls furiously, getting ready to pounce on her before Mikael forces himself up and rushed towards Robert, snapping down on his throat and sweeping him off his feet before slamming him against a tree then the ground.

Elsa rushed to her feet before Robert snatches Mikael off of him and sends an ice spike through his side,making him roar in pain and turn his attention back to her while Mikael slashes him across the back.

He turns to face Mikael and slashes at him a few times while his black furred adversary slashes back at him, each of them either deflecting the other's claws or tearing another chunk out of each other as Elsa catches one of Robert's arms in a block of ice, which gave Mikael enough time to get a few good slashes in before his other arm slapped him across the head and forces him to his knees.

He used this as a chance to land an uppercut and send him flying back as Elsa works her way to his side, taking a defensive stance beside him while Robert rushed back to his feet, his blood red eyes glaring at them coldly.

The white wolf roared furiously before charging at them again only to be stopped by an ice wall that was steadily pushing him back. Elsa started straining a bit when she felt Robert forcing it back towards them, but managed to keep him at a distance for the moment.

After a few minutes of slashing and pushing against the slab of ice, Robert finally just took a few steps back before leaping towards it, shattering it on impact as he unleashed another furious roar and aiming his claws at Elsa.

* * *

Mikael managed to quickly knock Elsa out of the way before Robert reached them then snapped down on his leg and slings him backwards while she got back to her feet, looking between them as Mikael puts himself between her and their enemy.

The two wolves snarled angrily before charging each other again, Mikael sinking his claws into Robert's chest before ripping chunks out of him as Elsa shoots another ice spike into his side while the white wolf retaliates by slashing his claws down Mikael's left leg, making him yelp quickly before slapping him across the head and knocking him to the side.

"Mikael!" She calls out before rushing to his side, Robert lunging at her again before she impales him on a line of ice spikes. He struggles to pry himself off the slivers of ice while Elsa wrapped her arm around Mikael in case his leg gives out.

The black wolf gave her a light snarl like he was telling her he'd be okay when they heard the ice holding Robert in place shatter as the white wolf lashed out at his restraints and shakes the light icicles from his bloodied pelt then glares back at them while he regains himself a bit.

He snarled and rushes towards them again before Elsa sends another blizzard flying towards him while Mikael tackles him from the side, making them tumble down hill before Robert slings him off and pounces on top of him, mercilessly tearing into him until he felt a chunk of ice force him off as Elsa follows them down.

"You're not taking him away from me! I won't let you!" She yells before a blizzard starts forming around the clearing, coating the crimson coated environment in snow as Mikael and Robert got back to their feet, the raging storm not hindering their senses in the slightest, however it seemed to soothe some of Mikael's pain.

While Elsa navigates her way through the blizzard, Mikael and Robert had sniffed each other out and were using it as camouflage in an attempt to ambush each other until Robert sniffs her out and starts creeping her way, completely ignoring Mikael for the moment.

Elsa looks around, using her hand to block the raging winds so she could see a little clearer until she noticed the two lupine shadows moving through the storm in an attempt to catch their opponent off guard until she heard a loud roar coming from her right.

When she turns to face the source, she noticed Robert forming through the blizzard about to lop her head off until Mikael pounces and tackles him back to the ground, snapping the beast's arm and tearing a huge gash in his stomach before they landed.

Robert roared before sinking his claws into Mikael's back and flinging him off then snapping his arm back into place as Elsa skewers ice through both arms, his legs and his torso, angering him more and making him shatter the spikes before slinging them at her, a couple cutting her arms and legs and knocking her down.

She yelps as she hit the ground and meets the demon's fiery eyes as it rushed towards her, sending him back with a powerful gale that would normally freeze it's victims solid before they hit the ground, but werewolves proved to be extremely durable against the cold so he simply jumps back to his feet before Mikael lunges at him, slapping him across the head and stomach as he landed and spilling his insides.

Robert howls painfully before returning the favor, reaching through Mikael's stomach and pulling as much as he could out before the black wolf starts gnawing his arm off, making his adversary throw him to the side like he was nothing then turn his attention back to Elsa who rushed to her feet to help Mikael.

* * *

When she sprints towards the mortally wounded werewolf she had grown so fond of, Robert rushed to separate her from him and lashed out at her before she instinctively summons a giant snowman, similar to Marshmallow to at least distract him while she tries to tend to Mikael.

Robert and the ice golem roared at each other before the white werewolf lunges at it, the force of his landing nearly dragging the construct to the ground before it grabs him and slammed him down.

Elsa used this as an opportunity to rush over to Mikael, who was trying to stuff his insides back in his stomach and snarling irritably every time something falls out until she reached him and starts helping him a bit.

He yelps and struggles a bit when she touched the wound until she lightly pets his head. "Sorry..." She said softly before helping him close the wound. "This is going to hurt, but it may help keep it closed while you heal." She says, making him lay his head down before she closes his wound with small ice shards, making him yelp and snarl in pain when she did until his healing rate starts kicking in again.

Elsa's ice golem slams it's fist towards Robert, making the ground shake when he dashed out of the way and swiped at his leg, making it roar before kicking him backwards.

He kicked his hind legs back before pushing himself through the air and slashing at it's shoulder, severing it's arm off and stumble back with a roar as he catches himself on a tree behind him, using his claws to swing around and crash into the ice golem's back, the impact nearly forcing it to the ground before it caught itself and forced itself back up while Robert tears into it's neck.

It reached back and pulls him off to throw him down again before he starts pulling it's fingers off and climbs up it's arm, pulling it off when he got to it's back again and making it roar furiously and shoot ice spikes out of it's back.

Robert managed to evade the spikes when they shot out and starts clawing and slashing at the side and bottom of it's neck, eventually sending it's head crashing to the ground with it's body following suit as he leaps into the bushes behind them.

Elsa jumps and turns around when the ice golem crashed to the ground, her eyes frantically searching for Robert who had disappeared while Mikael weakly sniffed the air, his attention locked on the brush surrounding them.

He growls when he noticed Robert creeping around, making her look down at him then follow her gaze as the bushes before the white wolf lunges at her, unleashing a thundering roar as he did when Mikael manages to push her out of the way before he pinned her down, the beast's claws lightly scratching her arm as he flew past her.

She rushed to her feet as Robert lands, using the momentum in an attempt to strafe around and ambush her from the side until she summons a block of ice that hits him in the head and sent him tumbling to the side.

* * *

He let out a quick yelp as he tumbles down the slope before jumping back to his feet and charging at her, dodging most everything she sent at him until he reached her, swiping at her mercilessly only for her to either just barely evade his attacks or only suffer light scratches until she kicked him in the stomach, luckily hitting the wound Mikael left earlier and stopping him for a minute.

He roars furiously before swiping her away, but not before she sent a sheet of ice creeping across the ground to throw him off balance and send him sliding across it until he caught himself again.

She catches herself in another pile of snow as Robert slides towards her, attempting to snap down on her arm before she encased it in ice and tries to wrestle him, their eyes locking the moment he bit down on the icy brace while his snarling and growling echoes through her ears.

Mikael started struggling to his feet when he saw her trying to wrestle Robert off, still pretty weak from the blood loss and the deep wounds that were steadily trying to stitch themselves back together, noticing her skewer an ice spike through him with her free hand before he sends her flying to the side.

The impact of her landing knocks the breath out of her, but she managed to get back to her feet while Robert pulls the ice out of his chest and throw it to the side before trotting to her, uttering an angry snarl when he did.

She sends a barrage of ice spikes flying towards him, at least half of them landing at different points on his body and making him stagger a bit, but not slowing him down any.

The closer he got, the faster she fired and the more it started sapping her energy only for him to just shake it off until he got close enough to slash at her stomach, making her instinctively jump back so she wouldn't be gutted, however the tips of his claws did bite into her flesh a bit.

She yelps lightly before rushing to her feet and surrounding herself with a small blizzard, managing to keep him at bay for a minute and expanding it every time he took a swing at her.

He started stepping back as the blizzard grew, roaring furiously before taking a few quick steps back, locking his attention on the trace of her he could make out through the storm before lunging towards her, swiping her to the side and making her slide across the ice as he strafes around for the kill.

She sits up and fires a stream of ice at him, which slowed him down, but didn't stop him and gave her time to stumble to her feet and back away while managing to keep him at a distance.

Robert fought his way through the steady assault before rising up on his hind legs and trying to move faster to little avail, but he was slowly gaining speed until he grabs her by the head and throws her backwards.

Luckily, she lands in a pile of snow from one of her previous landings and climbs out while Robert utters a blood curdling howl before she instinctively looks to the side, noticing that Mikael had disappeared.

* * *

She climbs out of the snow and takes a defensive stance as Robert starts circling her, making her instinctively follow suit while her icy blue eyes lock on to him, waiting for him to make a move.

He pins his ears down, hunched his shoulders and snarls as they circled each other before barely moving out of her line of sight then strafing around to try and take her from the side, making her gaze shoot towards him as she sends another barrage of ice spikes at him and making him stagger a bit before continuing his charge.

She fires a small blizzard at him when he shook the ice spikes off and sent him backwards a bit, but didn't really slow him down too much as she starts strafing to the side in an attempt to evade him.

He digs his claws into the sheet of ice beneath him when the blizzard forced him back and charges forward again before getting caught on another set of ice spikes, making him shatter them and shake off light shards while he pulls the spikes themselves out of his body and leaping over the barrier to continue his charge.

She fires another ice stream at him as she strafes side to side to try and throw him off her trail until he sprints left and tries to take her from her right until she summoned an ice wall to stop him.

The sudden impact of the ice wall made Robert fly backwards before he charges forward again and leaps through it and pins her to the ground. She stabs an ice spike in his neck in an attempt to get him off of her, but it just made him pin her arm down and try to bite down on her head before she catches him by the shoulder and hold him back.

Her strength starts fading when he starts forcing her arm down, his jaws opening wider when he got closer to her head and was just about to snap down on it until something bites deep into the nape of his neck and hooks two sets of claws into his forearms, pulling them up when it did as it starts pulling him backwards.

She looks up when she felt Robert's grip loosen to see Mikael dragging him backwards then forcing him up off the ground before pulling large chunks of flesh out from his arms and neck then throwing him to the side as he tried to howl in pain before skipping across the ice.

Mikael bites down on the chunk of flesh in his mouth before swallowing what didn't hit the ground and dropping the pieces that were stuck to his claws with it while Elsa gets back to her feet, trying to catch her breath when she did.

Robert struggles to his feet, the fresh wounds to his arm and neck making it difficult even with his healing rate trying to stitch them back together. When he finally got to his hind legs,he looked to Mikael then Elsa with a kind of disoriented look before charging at Elsa.

She sent another blizzard flying towards him while Mikael starts charging at him from the side to make him slide backwards before charging again only to run into another ice wall that stuns him and makes him stagger.

Mikael took this as an opportunity to rush past him before snapping his jaws into his ribs and tearing his heart out, the wind coming off of him making his limp body spin then start to drop before Mikael catches him halfway down, forces him to his knees, wraps his claws around his upper jaw then rip the top half of his head off, watching the corpse drop before unleashing a thundering howl that not only shatters the ice wall, but makes the ground, trees and even the mountains shutter at it's force.

* * *

Elsa studies Mikael curiously as he drops his enemies head and hunches over, panting heavily when he did. She rushes over to him and lightly grasps his arm. "Come on..." She said gently before carefully coaxing him to follow her, which he does with a weak snarl.

They wandered through the forest for what felt like hours as they tried to find a safe place to rest for the night, but Mikael's wounds were slowing him down despite a good few of them having healed up already, however a few had opened back up and Elsa was still exhausted from the fight.

She looks over at Mikael to notice his head drooping and his eyes slitting like he was fixing to pass out, which makes her shake him lightly to wake him up a bit. "Don't give out on me now, Mikael...here's bound to be a safe place where we can rest...somewhere." She says in a light tone before yawning and staggering a bit, Mikael helping her straighten up a bit when he felt her stumble to the side.

His ears perk up after a minute and he sniffs the air before gently coaxing her to the left, letting her know that he found somewhere they could rest. She turns in the direction he was coaxing her towards and they slowly make their way to this unknown sanctuary.

after another half hour, they came across an inviting, serene grove that had a light stream running through it, trees and bushes dotting the green earth beneath them as Mikael collapsed in front of the stream, letting Elsa go to keep from dragging her down with him before lightly lapping the chilly water from it while she scoops a little into her hands and takes a few light sips from it.

She looks at Mikael who lifts his head up from the stream, having healed a little more now since they got here and slowly walks over to him, lightly stroking the nape of his neck when she reached him.

"Thanks...if you hadn't gotten back up when you did..." She starts before he gently nudges her leg and lets out a light whimper, which made her smile softly then kneel down beside him, carefully wrapping her arms around his neck so she wouldn't irritate his wounds.

He lightly rests his head on her shoulder when she embraced him and slowly draped his arm over her before his wounded left leg gives out and makes him fall to his side with a quick yelp and making Elsa fall on top of him when he did.

She wiggles under his arm for a minute before carefully resting against his side, gently stroking down his neck as their bodies start relaxing with each other and Mikael looks back at her long enough to lightly lick her shoulder then lay back down as he starts slipping into unconsciousness.

Her eyes shot to his head after she felt him lick her and a light smile crosses her face as she snuggles closer to him, still minding his wounds before letting out a soft sigh then closing her eyes and falling asleep with him...

* * *

**Okay, I know I said I probably wouldn't post another note after the last chapter, but I needed a bit of a filler, so here it is.**

**Honestly, I was hoping to drag this out a good little bit and post it tomorrow, but I had a little more time than I usually do today and managed to get a good bit done on it, so I figured I'd go ahead and finish it.**

**Anyway, there should be one,maybe two chapters left to this, I honestly can't say for sure, it depends on how long I can drag the ending out before I get to it, so yup.**

**I thank all of ya again for reading and hope this chapter lived up to y'all's expectations and proved to be as interesting as the others.**

**Till next time...**


	21. Chapter 21: When Beauty Meets Savagery

_Elsa opened her eyes and looks around the grove curiously, feeling Mikael breathing under her and making her study him._

_It was early morning and he had changed back after last night's blood bath, but he had fresh, but relatively light scars and patches of black fur decorating his at the moment nude body, but other than that, he looked like he'd be okay._

_She gently strokes his chest, feeling his heartbeat thump through her fingers until she noticed a hooded, feminine figure lightly stroking his hair._

_"Um..." She calls out, making the hooded woman look towards her with a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you, your majesty." She said calmly, making Elsa raise her eyebrow._

_"Have we...?" She starts before the young woman nods lightly. "Sort of...I kind of helped Mikael vent when ya went to see the trolls." She answered calmly, making a surprised look cross her face._

_"You're...?" She started as the young woman kind of half ass nods. "Well, what's left of her..." She said with a light chuckle before Elsa frowns a little._

_"Oh, come on now,don't do that...ain't nothing anybody could have done to keep it from happening...besides, I'm just glad the two of ya found somebody that makes ya happy." She says with a smirk, making Elsa study her curiously._

_"Wait, you knew...?" She asks quickly before the young woman chuckles lightly. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that..." She answers, which makes Elsa's curiosity grow._

_"How...?" She asked. "A few nights before I died, I had this dream about a wolf that was blacker than the midnight sky. An angry, reclusive creature with a bloodied, lonely past. The wolf wandered through a snowy forest until he came across a young woman, beautiful, pure of heart, but she was just as lonely as the wolf." She starts calmly as Elsa listened intently._

_"Anyway, the wolf learned that the woman...had triggered the sudden winter that engulf the forest and believed she was a threat, so he started snarling circling her like she was prey until she looked into his eyes and smiled at him, even putting her hand out like she was greeting an old friend." She continued as tears started forming in her eyes and a gentle smile crosses her lips._

_"What did he do?" She asks in a quiet tone, making the young woman smile. "Well, he started hesitating for a minute and started backing away from her. Then she started walking towards him, keeping her hand out and telling him she wouldn't hurt him...Eventually, he stopped and approached her before nudging her hand which made her start petting him. Then they hugged each other and I woke up..." She finished in a calm tone as Elsa wipes tears from her eyes._

_"Ironic how one little exaggeration leads to so much trouble only for things to work themselves out in the end, ain't it?" The young woman said with a light laugh._

_"Robert was never looking for me that night, was he?" Elsa asked calmly before the young woman shook her head. "Not yet...one of the clan's scouts tracked your family down after your accident with Anna and told him about it. I just so happened to be arguing with him because he was planning on extorting protection from Arendelle and it pissed me off. When the scout told him about a little girl with ice powers, I remembered the dream and it gave me an idea." She explains calmly._

_"Anyway, I told Mikael he was looking for you so for one thing we could leave the clan for good, but hopefully give two lonely little kids with unique talents somebody to talk to." She finished with a smile._

_"Well...despite everything that happened...thank you for...introducing us." Elsa said with a gentle smile before lightly kissing Mikael on the cheek. "Of course..." She said simply before bowing her head._

_"But...I think I've kept ya long enough, Anna's throwing a fit." She said calmly, making a very confused look cross Elsa's face. "Wait, this..." She started as she looks around curiously._

_"This was the only way I could actually talk to ya in person and I wanted to thank ya for being there for him, even when all Hell broke loose last night...his heart's in the right place, but he's too hard headed for his own good, I'm glad you're just hard headed enough to put up with him." She said wittily, making Elsa laugh lightly._

_"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you...even if it was under strange circumstances and...thank you again for..." She said calmly as the young woman nods. "Pleasure's all mine, Queen Elsa...and don't mention it, both of ya needed the company, I just hate it took so long." She said before standing up and bowing._

_"Take care of yourselves, ya make an adorable pair." She says with a smile before she heard Anna's voice faintly calling out to her through the "dream."_

_"Elsa! Elsa! Wake up! Please wake up!" She cried as her vision starts blurring and the grove disappears around her..._

* * *

Elsa wakes up to Anna frantically shaking her with tears streaming from her eyes. "Elsa! Elsa!" She calls out, Elsa not really able to answer her due to her sister's hysteric shaking.

"AAnna, II'm ffine." She stuttered through her at the moment jarred state before Anna finally stopped, a big smile crossing her face before she hugged her sister tightly, making her grunt lightly considering she was still sore from last night.

"You're alive! Are you okay?! Did he hurt you?! What happened?!" She asked in a shaky, emotional tone which made Elsa laugh a little as she hugs her sister close. "I'm fine, Anna, just a little sore...I'll tell you about it later, it's a long story." She said calmly before noticing Kai, Talia, Cedric and Kristoff at the edge of her bed.

"Is Mikael...?" She asks in a worried tone. "He took a hell of a beating, ya both did. He'll live, though." Talia answered in a reassuring tone, making her sigh in relief. "Where is he?" She asked as she turned her attention to Talia.

"He said he had a few things to take care of, didn't say when he'd be back, though." She answered, which made Elsa frown lightly. "He'll come back..." Anna says quietly, giving her a soft smile when she did.

"Robert...?" She asks before noticing Talia shake her head. "I don't see anything coming back from that..." She said calmly, making her nod contently. "Then it's finally over..." She says quietly.

"The nobles?" She asks. "Gone except for your uncle and cousins." Kai answers before she starts stirring a little, making Anna get off of her when she did. "Well, let's go tell them I'm okay." She says softly as she got up out of bed, yelping lightly when she felt her stomach pinch.

"Yeah, you took some nasty blows...I think it was more impact damage than anything, though..." Cedric said simply, pointing to the light claw marks that lined her skin. "Given the position I was in at the time, I think it could have been a lot worse." She says with a slight chuckle.

"From what we saw of the place, it looked like the three of ya tore it up pretty good...we would say the others probably had a lot to do with it, but I think Mikael, Robert or both of them together butchered the entire lot during their little fiasco." Talia said simply, making Elsa think back to when she had reached the clearing again and saw the mangled bodies surrounding them.

"That explains a lot...I was thinking it was just the moonlight messing with me." She said calmly as she stands. "How did you find us, anyway?" She asks curiously as she looked between them.

"Me, Anna, Talia and Cedric went back to the clearing Robert and his lackeys were hiding in and found it covered in ice, snow and blood, body parts strewn all over the place...and a giant white werewolf that had almost been torn to pieces from the start, but other than that had a hole in the left side of his chest and the top part of his head had been ripped off..." Kristoff started before Talia smirks.

"Then we just followed the blood trail leading away from the scene to a grove where we found you and Mikael, who was buck ass nude by the way...snuggled up to each other asleep by a creek." She finished in a teasing voice and making her blush madly.

* * *

"Funny, that's exactly what you were doing when we found ya." Talia laughs, making her blush more before hiding her face in her hands. Everyone else started laughing when she does that and Anna her a hug.

"Was he really...?" Elsa asked in a shy tone before she noticed Anna nodding her head. She blushed more and took a deep breath when she remembers her conversation with Selena, which made her start thinking.

"What...what time is it?" She asks in a kind of shaky tone while she tries to keep from sounding too nervous. "A little after one, I think." Anna answers, making her eyes widen.

"I've been...?" She starts quickly before looking out her window, confirming that it was indeed early in the afternoon. "Hey, you needed the rest. And look on the bright side, at least you fell asleep somewhere and with someone you were comfortable with." Anna said in a kind of playful tone.

Elsa didn't really know how to respond to that, she was right,at least she was in a peaceful place with somebody she was comfortable with and still alive to boot. "Yeah, true..." She giggled lightly before she starts blushing again.

"Well, I think...we've wasted enough time up here, let's go downstairs." She says in a quick tone, making Anna, Kristoff and Talia raise their eyebrows a bit before they each made their way out of the room.

They walk through the corridors as Elsa reached up to her neck only to learn that the pendant Mikael gave her last night was missing, which made a frantic look cross her face.

"Oh no, please tell me I didn't lose it..." She said quickly, making Anna turn around. "Lose what?" She asked. "Mikael gave me a pendant last night and it's gone." She answers in a saddened tone before Anna lightly pats her on the shoulder.

"We'll look for it later. Okay?" She said in a reassuring tone,making her nod reluctantly. "Okay..." She says softly before they catch up to Kristoff, Talia and Cedric. Her head drops a little and her eyes widen a bit when she noticed the blood on her dress.

"Who's...?" She squeaks lightly. "Mostly Mikael's and Robert's...you got scratched a few times, but you weren't bleeding too bad." Talia answers in a kind of quick tone when she heard the surprise in her voice.

"I tell ya what, ya picked a hell of a guy to fall for...especially after taking a beating like that and not only living through it, but still being in one piece...werewolf or not, you've found a hell of a guy..." She remarks wittily, making Elsa smile lightly.

"I just hate he had to go through so much, though..." She said softly, making Talia smirk. "People do some crazy shit when they care about somebody..." She responds, making her smile grow when she thinks about the lengths she went to when she was trying to get him to open up a little then remembers what Anna put herself through for her.

* * *

"Love's a crazy thing, I guess..." She says to herself as they entered the throne room, Harknir, Rapunzel and Flynn turning their attention to the group when they heard the doors open.

"Elsa!" Rapunzel shouts before running towards her and giving her a tight hug, making her yelp a bit. "Ow, still sore..." She said in a kind of quick tone, making her let go. "Sorry..." She says calmly.

"It's okay." Elsa smiles lightly as Rapunzel led them over to her father and husband. "What happened? Are the others...?" She started asking in a hasty tone. "I think Mikael and Robert took them out before I made it back to them, but..." She stops when she remembered the condition Mikael was in when she reached him.

"Yeah, I remember Talia saying he was hurt real bad...what hadn't healed back overnight, anyway." Rapunzel said calmly, making her nod lightly. "I thought I lost him a few times last night..." She said with a soft frown.

"Well, luckily you both made it back alive..." Harknir said with a light smile, making her smile a little bit. "And you won't be hearing anymore of the council saying he wouldn't protect you or Arendelle anymore." He smirks a little bit.

"True...I'm just glad he's okay, everyone's still in one piece and that monster's finally gone..." She said in a simple tone, making her uncle raise her eyebrow a bit. "Robert lived up to his title, huh?" He asked calmly before he noticed her shutter.

"He was...as human as he could get when we found the clearing, but...when I looked into his eyes I saw empty, hollow pits of evil, corruption and..." She kind of hesitates as she tries to accurately explain what kind of unholy abomination was plaguing her kingdom until last night.

"Forget I asked..." Harknir said calmly, making her nod in agreement. "Yeah, what's important is that we don't have to worry about him anymore..." She says calmly before reluctantly looking to the door.

"Did he even say where he was going?" She asks in a quick tone before she noticed Kai shake his head. "He just said he'd try and be back as soon as he could..." He answers, making her sigh lightly.

"Probably going to burn those bodies...ya know, just in case." Talia says simply, making her nod a little. "Yeah, maybe..." She says softly, her eyes locked on the door. Anna shakes her head lightly before nudging her.

"Elsa...I promise you, he's coming back...why wouldn't he?" She says in a kind of quiet tone, making Elsa look down a little. "The same reason he was trying to leave in the first place..." She kind of mutters to herself.

"You're both past that...he doesn't have any reason to leave..." Anna suggests with a light smile. "He was here to kill Robert in the first place...what if he presumes that my getting hurt is...?" Elsa started before Anna covered her mouth.

"All I know is that he doesn't have another reason to leave, not for good anyway...but, he does have a reason to stay..." She said simply, making her smile a little again.

* * *

Elsa and Anna accompanied their uncle and cousins to the docks after they finished packing to say their goodbyes while Kristoff goes to check on things in the ice fields and Talia decided she was going to the tavern.

"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer? I think Mikael's the only werewolf left and we know he won't hurt us..." Elsa asked in a kind of disappointed tone before Harknir nods lightly.

"I wish we could, but I need to check on things in Corona. The attacks here...it makes one wonder..." He said calmly, making her nod a little. "Well, you know you're more than welcome to come back anytime." She smiles lightly.

"And we'll try our best to come back quicker this time...and hopefully under better circumstances." He says with a smile. "Yeah, maybe it would have been a better idea to wait until the werewolves were gone before..." She says before her uncle chuckles.

"Don't look at it like that...at least it all worked out in the end..." He said calmly. She nods lightly then blushes when she starts thinking about Mikael, which makes Harknir laugh lightly.

"I rest my case." He said simply before hugging his nieces to him. "You take care of yourselves...and each other." He says calmly as they hugged back. "Be careful." Elsa said lightly before they released each other then turn to Rapunzel and Flynn.

They exchanged hugs between each other then bowed lightly after they let go. "Well...other than being kidnapped by werewolves...it's been fun." Flynn said calmly, making Anna giggle lightly.

"Yeah, I think we could have done without that..." She said, making him chuckle a bit. "Do you think we should wait on Elsa's boyfriend? I'm sure he'd want to say goodbye." He asked in a kind of sarcastic tone,making Elsa blush.

"It maybe dark when he gets back...we'll tell him you said bye, though." Anna said with a light smile, making him nod contently. "Okay." He said before looking towards Elsa, laughing a bit when he saw her blushing.

"I'll be honest, I couldn't really see them working out like they have, especially wondering when he was gonna pull a knife across my throat, but...I'm glad she found somebody she could connect with..." He said in a kind of quiet tone, making Anna and Rapunzel smile a bit.

"Yeah, I think they both needed this...even if it took the werewolves showing up here to bring them together." Rapunzel said lightly as Anna nods in agreement. "And I'm glad he's not like the other..."suitors" the council tried to set her up with." She says simply, making her cousins nod in agreement.

"Yeah, I think I'd rather see her with a cutthroat werewolf with a chip on his shoulder than the pigs they picked out for her..." Flynn stated before he and Rapunzel start heading to the ramp leading to the deck of Harknir's ship.

"Well, till next time." He said as they board the ship before Elsa and Anna curtsy lightly. "Until then." Elsa said calmly before the ships' crew pulls the ramp up. "Alright, lads! Full sails! Hard to port!" The captain shouts before the crew scurried to let the sails down then turn the ship hard to the left.

* * *

Elsa and Anna waved as the ship glides through the fjord before turning back and heading back to the castle, Elsa's eyes moving to the forest as they step off the dock. "You're going to worry yourself sick, you know?" Anna said in a kind of sarcastic tone.

"I just don't want him hurting himself any worse than he already is...or at least leaving without saying goodbye." Elsa responds softly before her head drops a little. Anna was about to say something until somebody bumps into them before catching himself and looking at them, making both of them raise their eyebrows when they realize who it was.

"Mercer?" Anna asked in a kind of quick tone before he starts looking around then looks back at them. "If either of ya see a big, burly fella with a pissed off look on his face, ya ain't seen me before in your life." He said quickly before the sisters looked between each other curiously.

"Is...something wrong?" Elsa asked calmly, making Mercer feign an offended look. "No, no, of course not. Just a little...misunderstanding." He said in a simple tone before...

"GET BACK HERE, YOU SORRY, THIEVING, DRUNKEN BASTARD!" A voice shouts through the crowd, making the marauder's eyes widen before he looks back at the crowd.

"Sorry, gotta run." He said quickly before he starts turning to run off then stopping like he just remembered something, turning his attention back to Elsa when he did. "Oh yeah, Mikael told me to tell ya something." He said quickly, making her raise her eyebrow a bit.

"Really?" She asked in an interested, happy tone. "Yeah. It was something to do with uh...dammit." He starts kind of babbling. "THAT KEG'S GONNA COST YOU YOUR HIDE, YOU BLOODY CROOK!" The voice bellows again, making him look up then start stuttering and babbling worse.

"Uh, uh, I think it was something to do with...son of a bitch,what was it?" He babbled as he looks between them and the crowd before snapping his fingers when it finally hits him.

"Ha! He told me to tell you...that he wants ya to meet him by the fjord." He said before rushing off, making Elsa kind of rush after him. "Wait,when?!" She calls out quickly.

"After dark!" Mercer shouts without looking back or slowing down when they noticed a furious man that matched the description Mercer gave them, who they recognized as owning the tavern rush through the crowd with a club in his hand.

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU,YOU'LL BE SORRY!" He bellows as he runs after Mercer, who was easily able to outrun him considering he was a werewolf himself. "YA SHOULDN'T BUY CHEAP ASS KEGS!" He shouts back to the bartender before jumping down to the docks in an attempt to lose him. All Elsa and Anna could really do is watch the scene with a curious look on their faces.

"Should we...?" Anna asks calmly, making her sister shrug lightly. "If Mercer's anything like Mikael said he is...I don't think he's going to catch him..." She answers simply before Anna nods lightly.

* * *

Elsa walks out to the edge of the fjord when she finally managed to get done with whatever duties she had for the day and looking over documents that the dignitaries had given to Kai before they left, which conveniently took until after dark.

She studies the shore curiously, not noticing anything at first until she saw a burgundy blanket spread out two feet from the edge of the water which had white flower petals lightly decorating it.

A light smile crossed her face as she studies the set up and she slowly walks over to it, looking out at the moonlit water while she waits for Mikael to arrive. Little did she know, he was strolling up the shoreline and had just now finished what he was doing when he noticed her standing by the blanket he laid out earlier and starts creeping around behind her.

After a moment, Elsa feels a pair of arms lacing around her and jumps lightly until they gently pull her into a comfortable embrace that makes her body relax against the familiar figure behind her and a light blush creep across her cheeks.

"Ya sleep good?" He asks lightly before softly kissing her cheek, making a cute smile cross her lips. "Yeah...I think it's the best sleep I've had all week." She says in a gentle tone.

"I'm glad...I would have told ya where I was going and where to meet me, but ya looked like you were sleeping pretty soundly and I kind of wanted to get my little errands done before ya got here so..." He kind of rambled before she giggles and lightly puts her finger to his lips, wiggling around in his arms enough to where she could hug him.

"It's okay...I'm just glad you're still here..." She says sweetly before kissing his lips, moaning softly when he starts kissing her back. "I ain't gonna do that to ya, especially after all the hell I've put ya through." He said simply as their lips part before she lightly kissed his again.

"It wasn't your fault...none of it was." She said softly, giving him a comforting smile while her hand tenderly strokes his chest before she noticed his eyes look down to her neck, making her frown lightly.

"I'm sorry...I lost..." She starts before his finger gently touches her lips while he shakes his head lightly. "You didn't lose it..." He says softly, making her raise her eyebrow lightly as he reaches into one of the pockets decorating his armor then pulling the pendant out, which now had a werewolf claw and fang on either side of it that were both decorated with carvings of snowflakes and what she took to be the wind.

"I...wanted to add a couple of things to it...if that's okay." He said calmly, making her smile again. "You..." She starts quietly as he carefully replaces the necklace around her neck with a light smile on his face.

"You should have stayed with Mercer when he slipped ya out of the clearing...that was a bone head move...but, I'm glad ya came back." He said gently, making her shake her head lightly.

"I wasn't about to leave you there to die...not after everything you've put yourself through just to protect me when you didn't have to..." She says sweetly before they carefully sit down on the blanket and snuggle up to each other.

* * *

Elsa lightly rests her head on his shoulder as they pulled each other close before looking into his shimmering silver eyes. "So..." She starts softly, making him cut his eyes to her curiously.

"So..." He says softly before she laces her fingers with his. "Have you made up your mind?" She asks gently, making him raise his eyebrow for a moment before he realized what she was talking about.

"Do ya still want me to stay...?" He asks calmly before she starts stroking his cheek then pulls him to her lips and kissing him as passionately as he kissed her the night of the festival.

He blushed as he strokes her cheek and starts kissing her back, both of them letting out a light moan when their lips lock before they embrace each other tightly like this was going to be the last time they'd see each other.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Mikael said softly when their lips briefly part before locking again. After a few moments, they reluctantly stopped and locked eyes while Elsa blushes and smiles cutely.

"In that case, I think I'm gonna stay in Arendelle...if ya don't mind." He said with a playful smile. "I wouldn't want it any other way..." She says sweetly as they lay back on the blanket, making her snuggle close to him and rest her head on his chest while he wraps his arms around her.

"We need to try and do this every week..." She says softly as they looked out across the fjord, enjoying each other's comfort the whole time. "I think we can do that..." He smiles lightly before he starts gently stroking her hair, finally finding the peace and comfort he didn't believe was possible until he first saw her with his own eyes...

* * *

**Well, that's all she wrote...**

**I can't believe I managed to drag it out as long as I did, but here it is...in all it's cheesy glory.**

**Thanks again for taking the time to read it and all that, hope ya enjoy this corny ass ending and...**

**Well, hell I don't know where to go from here...awkward.**

**I guess I'll end it with a much obliged, hope it was at least an interesting read and **

**possibly see y'all the next time I think up some more cheesy shit...**

**Take care now, bye bye then...**


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